Clorox has withdrawn from the state’s job development investment grant program that would have paid it $2.2 million because of employment shortages.
Vice President of Tax David Green, in a letter to the state, attributed the company’s inability to meet its JDIG employment growth targets to the emergence of remote work and a change in its growth strategy related to vitamins, minerals and supplements business.
“Even when considering a possible base period extension, we’ve come to the realization that current conditions preclude us from meeting the growth targets specified in our JDIG agreement,” wrote Green.
Despite withdrawing from the JDIG program, Clorox did exceed its capital investment goal of $6.75 million by spending $4 million to expand its downtown Durham office and $9 million to expand its research and development building.
Clorox employs 520 full-time workers in Durham, exceeding its original base employment level of 485 full-time employees.
When the deal was announced, Clorox said it would establish a new research and development facility and expand corporate operations in Durham County for Better Health and Burt’s Bees between its headquarters in Durham and a manufacturing facility in Morrisville.
Other companies, including Syneos Health and Bandwidth, have also recently dropped out of the JDIG program.