Philip Morris’ Concord Facility will close its doors in 2010.
Some interesting facts about the Concord facility:
- Philip Morris is the second largest employer in Cabarrus County (Northeast Medical is first)
- Philip Morris is the County’s largest taxpayer - accounting for 7.45% of the taxes brought in by the county last year. 10 years ago - the number was closer to 15%.
- As for the City - Philip Morris pays nearly $5 million/year in taxes - that’s almost 1/6 of the total property tax take for the City.
- Most everyone in the county has run through one of their red lights because they were driving through around a shift change and were just used to crusin’ through…c’mon admit it.
Here’s a round-up of coverage AND one article that nobody is talking about.
- CB&L Online discusses both the employment and tax implications.
- The Sailsbury Post gives a general summary and the statement from the City of Concord
- At Charlotte.com (the Observer’s front web page), it was top line news. Here’s the article.
- The Independent Tribune goes a little deeper into the human side and also reports on what local employment relief agencies are planning on doing about it.
- And it would be unfair not to mention the intrepid work of Brad Spry at Kannapolis 2.0 for bringing the news to my RSS reader. Out of all of the newspapers, only CB&L has an RSS feed. Nearly all blogs - including this one - have an RSS feed.
Now, here’s the article you won’t hear too many people talking about; but is dripping with irony.
“Philip Morris USA: Making Good and Not Blowing Smoke” - Greater Charlotte Business Journal. It discusses how the $100+ million investment in the Concord facility will keep it here for years to come…the article was written in January 2005.
So, what do y’all think? Here’s the latest poll if you lack the energy to leave a comment. Note: For those of you reading this via e-mail or RSS feed - you’ll have to go to the site to participate in the poll.
What’s the long-term effect of the Philip Morris Concord, NC facility closing?
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6 responses so far ↓
1 Aaron // Jun 27, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Nice find on the Greater Charlotte article. A friend who works for the major contractor who installed a lot of that new gadgetry says they are planning to strip most of it out and move it to Richmond once the plant closes.
Funny, I drove past the Richmond Phillip Morris plant just a few months ago and it was the one that looked on the verge of closing. I guess maybe those “Truth” ads are working after all…
2 Justin Thibault // Jun 27, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Aaron: Include a link to your website when you comment. Actually be sure to do it on any blog when you get the chance - it’s a great way to get the best kind of traffic - referrals.
In all honesty, I don’t think that going after big manufacturers is good policy for this community. America doesn’t do big manufacturing as well as other countries (depending on what’s getting built). We’ll be setting ourselves up for disappointment. What would be great would be to create some type of business zone for small-to-midsize businesses there. It would take advantage of all of the residential development and help revitalize the retail in that area.
Just a thought.
3 Christina // Jul 15, 2007 at 10:37 am
Though I can feel for the workers because my family was hurt by the Corning closing, I am really happy the plant is closing. I don’t like the idea that one of the largest cancer factories in the country has been located in my hometown for almost 20 years now. If that is what we are sowing, then what can we expect to reap? I agree that a big manufacturer isn’t the answer, and hope the place will be occupied by something worthwhile.
4 Christina // Jul 15, 2007 at 10:40 am
oops I mean 30 yrs. Maybe they should open a math learning center in the location for people like me.
5 Aaron // Jul 17, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I wont get into a debate over my right to do with my body what I want to do with it. (Morality is its own animal) What people should be concerned about is the fact that this county and the city of Concord get over 10 million per year in tax revenue. What happens to the property tax rate while the place is vacant should be the main concern for every property owner. You cant build new parks, greenways, start new road projects and fund infastructure improvements for all these new housing developments with a ten million dollar hole in your budget. And if you were thinking that the city and county government will scale it back, think again…
On to the esteemed blogger…
I agree totally Justin. RTP is chocked full of small businesses and firms. That is the future, small companies that sell big ideas to big companies. The current PM site is perfect for that.
6 Justin Thibault // Jul 17, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Christina - PM recruited at UNCC when I was an engineering student. I didn’t bother; because smoking was going out of style then and I was already fortunate enough to be working for a firm that provides a useful service to society. That being said, I don’t fault anyone for working there. The only reason they made cigarettes is that someone was buying them; and it’s been little mystery over the past few decade that’s a bad idea.
Aaron - I don’t think it will take too long before the PM site is generating MORE tax revenue than it is now - as long as City officials don’t play SimCity with the area; and focus more on the market needs.