AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
Chatham County has ended its $400 million incentive for the Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast to build a battery and vehicle assembly plant southwest of Raleigh.
Read more Texas-style barbecue just landed in Durham. Here’s a look inside East of Texas
The county commissioners’ decision Monday came two months after the state sued VinFast to acquire its dormant site.
“VinFast has failed to meet the performance obligations and project deadlines outlined in the County’s economic development agreement,” county manager Bryan Thompson wrote in a statement to The News & Observer. “As a result, the County determined that termination of the agreement is warranted.”
Chatham gained the right to terminate the grant once VinFast didn’t create at least 1,750 jobs and invest around $700 million in the site near the unincorporated community of Moncure by the start of this year. VinFast has yet to complete significant construction as it has struggled with bad initial reviews, high staff turnover and a EV sector downturn.
VinFast committed to the project in March 2022, promising 7,500 jobs and pitching itself as the answer to North Carolina’s long pursuit of a major car assembly plant — one of the largest economic development deals in state history.
Chatham’s incentives were part of a broader state recruiting blitz. The local agreement contained two main benefits — a rebate on a percentage of property taxes and repayments over 20 years for what the company spent to purchase its megasite.
Read more Wellness spa for scalp and hair opens first location in North Raleigh
The county says it hasn’t distributed any money from this grant. But Chatham has already changed in anticipation of VinFast’s arrival; the state acquired and demolished several homes and Merry Oaks Baptist Church so that the N.C. Department of Transportation could build a new highway interchange and widen roads. Early work on this interchange has begun with funding from VinFast’s state incentive.
North Carolina officials hope to take over the Moncure campus and remarket it for a new employer. In May, state Attorney General Jeff Jackson sued VinFast in Wake County on behalf of the N.C. Department of Commerce after the company refused to sell the land. The state seeks to obtain it for $0 and claw back up to $80 million in public money VinFast has spent to ready the site.
Responding to the lawsuit in May, a VinFast spokesperson told The N&O that the company planned to “evaluate appropriate implementation conditions” in North Carolina.
“Contracts with contractors have already been signed,” she wrote. “And construction activities are expected to commence shortly in accordance with the planned schedule.”
Read more Texas-style barbecue just landed in Durham. Here’s a look inside East of Texas
A timeline wasn’t provided.