Mon
Feb 22 2021
10:01 am
Pratt & Whitney to Asheville
By: michael kaplan

Pratt & Whitney will build a 1 million square-foot advanced manufacturing center on a 100-acre Asheville site the Biltmore Farms Co. offered to Pratt & Whitney for $1, part of $15 million in state economic incentives plan that lured the company to North Carolina instead of several competing states.

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Treehouse's picture

Engine failure?

Submitted by Treehouse on Mon, 2021/02/22 - 11:46am.

And if they get sued what happens?!

yellowdog's picture

Advanced manufacturing versus warehouses

Submitted by yellowdog on Tue, 2021/02/23 - 10:33am.

Amazon plans 800 $15/hr jobs in a warehouse and Pratt & Whitney plans 800 jobs paying twice that. Only the Asheville jobs can suupport a middle class life.

bizgrrl's picture

Hah! Blount County (Alcoa)

Submitted by bizgrrl on Tue, 2021/02/23 - 10:47am.
(in reply to yellowdog)

Hah! Blount County (Alcoa) could have given away 100 acres for $1 to get these better jobs. The Amazon facility is on 89 acres and there is more available in that location. Alas.

Bill Lyons's picture

Amazon looks pretty good.

Submitted by Bill Lyons on Tue, 2021/02/23 - 6:07pm.

I suppose I am an outlier here but the Amazon deal look good and an excellent use of the available land. This creates 800 jobs paying $15 hour with full-time employees receiving medical and other benefits including a 50% 401k match. Full time at $15 is $30,000 yearly.

This is not employment nirvana to be sure. It is hard work and many positions are not full time, but it does require only a HS diploma or GED. Only about 25% or Blount County adults have a college degree. There are plenty of people in the area for whom such a job would be life changing. The $15hr wage will also put pressure on other employers.

Perhaps Pratt and Whitney would be a better catch but it is so hard to compare the state incentive packages or the workforce demands and, in any case the really good outcome need not be the enemy of the good one.

fischbobber's picture

On the other hand,

Submitted by fischbobber on Wed, 2021/02/24 - 11:37am.
(in reply to Bill Lyons)

They are displacing 30 dollar an hour jobs at UPS and USPS. The loser is the worker with this plan.

michael kaplan's picture

Bloomberg, December 18,

Submitted by michael kaplan on Wed, 2021/02/24 - 6:56pm.
(in reply to Bill Lyons)

Bloomberg, December 18, 2020

Many Amazon warehouse employees struggle to pay the bills, and more than 4,000 employees are on food stamps in nine states studied by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Only Walmart, McDonald’s and two dollar-store chains have more workers requiring such assistance, according to the report, which said 70% of recipients work full-time. As Amazon opens U.S. warehouses at the rate of about one a day, it’s transforming the logistics industry from a career destination with the promise of middle-class wages into entry-level work that’s just a notch above being a burger flipper or convenience store cashier.

yellowdog's picture

Amazon jobs are better than some

Submitted by yellowdog on Wed, 2021/02/24 - 9:59am.

but we should not pretend that it is some great coup, Without union representation, these workers will be treated like the replaceable parts they will be. Anybody who has looked will know the health and safety and scheduling trials of Amazon workers worldwide. It is revealing and accurate to say that these jobs will raise the standard here.

bizgrrl's picture

There is a problem with City

Submitted by bizgrrl on Wed, 2021/02/24 - 10:45am.


There is a problem with City of Alcoa over extending. I don't see how the Amazon facility is going to fix the problem.

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