Canadian-based auto parts manufacturer Magna International is expanding three factories and adding nearly 330 jobs in North Carolina, Gov. Beverly Perdue announced Monday.
Magna will receive $1.1 million in state tax breaks for the expansion. However, as part of the deal, state officials are requiring Magna to pay an average salary of at least $30,017 plus health care and other benefits. The three plants are located in Rowan, Catawba and Caldwell counties. Rowan ($35,048) and Catawba ($32,500) have slightly higher average annual salaries that the agreement guarantees, while Caldwell comes in just below at $28,340.
The unemployment rates in all three counties remains above the statewide average, the Associated Press reports.
“At $30,000 an average job, I think that’s something many, many, many people would be happy to have,” said Robert Van Geons, executive director of RowanWorks, the county’s economic development agency. “That’s a very competitive wage, and they’re not going to have any problem finding hundreds and hundreds of applications for that.”
Magna International operates 240 manufacturing plants in 25 countries.