STATEWIDE Charlotte Region
Jerry Orr’s departure time
Caught between the General Assembly and city government, which are fighting over control of Charlotte Douglas International Airport (cover story, September 2013), Jerry Orr retired Dec. 31 as executive director of the Charlotte Airport Commission. As city aviation director, he ran the airport from 1989 until last July when the legislature passed a law that wrested authority from the City Council and gave it to the 13-member commission, whose members were appointed by the city, Mecklenburg and five surrounding counties. City Manager Ron Carlee says Orr resigned his city job to work for the commission; Orr’s attorney, former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot, says he was fired. Until the commission receives certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, it’s powerless, blocked from operating the airport by a Superior Court injunction. Brent Cagle, the city’s interim aviation director, is filling in as the commission’s interim executive director.
CHARLOTTE — Swedish appliance-maker Electrolux will more than double its local workforce by the end of 2017, adding 810 people to the 760 on its payroll here and spending $85 million to expand its North American headquarters. The new jobs in research-and-development, information technology, marketing and finance will pay salaries that average $100,000 a year. That’s nearly 75% higher than Mecklenburg County’s average annual wage of $57,144. Electrolux employs about 1,500 in North Carolina.
CHARLOTTE — New York-based American International Group will open a technology center here, investing $5.5 million and creating 230 jobs by the end of 2017. It will develop and test software for the insurance company. The jobs will pay an average annual salary of about $100,000.
CHARLOTTE — Cargo Transporters will open a terminal here, creating 50 jobs by autumn. It’s part of the Claremont-based trucking company’s $23 million expansion, which also includes replacing aging equipment and making its fleet more environmentally friendly.
STATESVILLE — Hickory-based CommScope Holding sold some assets of its CommScope BiMetals division to Copperweld Bimetallics, a subsidiary of China-based Fushi Copperweld, for an undisclosed amount. The sale means CommScope will close its plant here, though some of the 100 workers affected might find work with the company in Claremont and Catawba.
NEW LONDON — Fiber Composites, which does business as Fiberon, will invest $3.8 million and create 25 jobs at its local plant. The average annual wage of the jobs will be $29,458, which is slightly lower than Stanly County’s average of $30,546. The company, which employs 324 in North Carolina, makes composite and PVC decking and railing products for residential and light commercial use.
CHARLOTTE — Dena Diorio became Mecklenburg county manager Jan. 1. She’s the first woman to lead the state’s largest county government, which employs about 5,000 and has an annual budget of $1.7 billion. The former assistant county manager replaces Bobby Shields, who held the interim job after county commissioners fired Harry Jones in May. Jones had been county manager for 13 years.