Along with death and taxes being certainties in life, I’d like to add this one: Readers will always remind you to check up on previous stories, especially if the topic is controversial.
I was actually pleased to get an email last week reminding me that Pratt & Whitney opened its gigantic south Buncombe factory a year ago, and it would probably be a good time to see if the jet engine parts plant is meeting its much vaunted promises on jobs and pay, commitments that were part of an overall $100 million incentives package.
The email was from a familiar name, Ken Jones, an anti-war activist and member of the local Reject Raytheon AVL group. (Defense contractor Raytheon Technologies Corp. is the parent company of Pratt & Whitney.) Jones, a staunch critic of Pratt & Whitney, was among those protesting when the plant opened a year ago. More recently, including Friday, protests centered on the use of warplanes in Gaza in the Israel-Hamas war, as those planes include Pratt & Whitney parts.
Jones and I have debated about the plant, the incentives, and Pratt & Whitney’s connection to the military — it supplies parts for the F-35 fighter jet, among other military aircraft. In a nutshell, I think we simply have to have a military (and military suppliers) to maintain our sovereignty and freedom, and as part of that, we will sell military equipment to our allies, who sometimes use the equipment in ways we may not approve of.
I do have reservations about the taxpayer-fueled $100 million incentives package that brought Pratt & Whitney here, but I’m also a pragmatist. That’s how the game is played, and if you don’t want the jobs to go to South Carolina, you’ve got to cough up the dough.
“I know you and I don’t see eye-to-eye about the Pratt & Whitney plant,” Jones wrote. “But are you aware of how far behind their tax incentive agreement schedule they are? Still not in production and not that many people hired. I’ve heard also that the working conditions are terrible and the salaries (are) not up to the levels advertised. Seems worth a story, don’t you think?”
Indeed. While Jones’ assertions appear to be overblown, it’s definitely worth checking in to see where the company is as far as its promises.
To recap, Pratt & Whitney makes jet engines and parts for the civilian aviation industry and for the U.S. military. Local and state economic development officials, politicians, and the Biltmore Farms Co. wooed the company for a couple of years, largely in secret, to locate the $650 million, 1.2 million square foot plant on 100 acres donated by Biltmore Farms for a symbolic $1.
As part of the deal, Pratt & Whitney promised to ultimately employ 800 people here, with an average annual salary of $68,400, although that average includes white collar workers. Politicians billed the project as “transformative” for the region, and Gov. Roy Cooper termed it “the largest economic development project for western North Carolina in its history.”
The plant manufactures high-tech jet engine airfoils, a component that goes deep inside a jet engine. Pratt & Whitney noted its airfoils help improve jet engine efficiency by up to 50 percent, so they’re in high demand.
They’re also used in the F-35 fighter jet, so the plant has generated protests among those critical of what they see as America’s excessive defense spending, as well as deals with foreign countries who also buy and use our military jets in various conflicts.
So, where do things stand at the plant?
Pratt & Whitney spokesperson Jennifer Dervin told me via email the company’s “hiring efforts are continuously ongoing.
“Year-to-date, we’ve added 235 new hires to our employee population, bringing our total count up to 385 and growing,” Dervin said. “We have a strong candidate flow and many local candidates with a strong desire to attain employment with Pratt & Whitney Asheville and build a promising career with us.”
Pratt & Whitney had to have at least 350 employees on board locally by the end of 2023 to meet its economic incentive goals, according to a presentation made to Buncombe County in 2020. It must hit 750 by the end of 2029.
Some were skeptical that Pratt & Whitney would hire a lot of locals, but Dervin said that has been the case, although she didn’t have specifics.
“I don’t have a breakdown, but I can confirm that the vast majority of hires are local to western North Carolina, and our recruiting efforts are focused on the region,” Dervin told me.
Dervin also said the company has been using strategically placed billboards this month “to continue attracting interested applicants to our open jobs.
“We are offering entry-level positions through highly-skilled positions within our business and welcome all interested candidates to apply,” Dervin said. “We will build a stronger Asheville community through employment of over 800 individuals through 2027.”
The starting pay for machine operators with no manufacturing experience is $20 an hour, and that rose in October from $19. The average pay for all machine operators at the Asheville facility as of this month is $22.35, and for all hourly positions the average is $25.62.
The average hourly wage for a machine operator in the United States is $18 an hour, according to Indeed.com, while Payscale.com reported it at $17.84, Dervin noted.
“Our entry level positions start at $20 an hour, placing us at approximately 11 percent higher than the national hourly average pay for machine operator positions,” Dervin said.
I’ll note, though, that Indeed.com puts the average wage for a machine operator in Asheville at $20.11.
I also reached out to Nathan Ramsey, the director of the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board, part of the Land of Sky Regional Council. It serves Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania counties.
Ramsey didn’t have data on Pratt & Whitney’s local hiring practices, but he did say it’s logical that it would be hiring locally.
“It makes sense that many of their hires would be local, as the wage to encourage someone to relocate is normally very high,” Ramsey said. “For example, you probably aren’t going to move to a new community for a job paying less than $60,000 per year unless there are other factors beyond economics involved.”
For positions paying over $100,000, that likely would attract candidates from out of the region.
“But that salary number is increasing as we hear repeated stories about employers trying to attract talent from out of the area with jobs paying over $100,000, and when candidates research housing options, they may decline offers of employment,” Ramsey said.
Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney is in production locally, albeit with a caveat.
“We achieved initial operating capability in the first half of this year,” Dervin said. “We are not yet at production maturity — that will still take some time.”
I wasn’t sure what those terms actually meant, so I asked for clarification.
“Initial operating capability means we have started producing parts in Asheville,” Dervin said. “‘Mature’ capability means we are producing at the volume needed for the business — which takes time to reach.”
A lot of incentives in play
The Pratt & Whitney package included $27 million from Buncombe County and $15.5 million from the state, as well as a new bridge and road leading to the plant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, among other enticements.
The project was announced in November 2020.
“Our most recent confirmation report is from April 2023 which reported on data from the prior year (calendar year 2021),” Buncombe County spokesperson Lillian Govus said via email. “Pratt met all milestones based on that report. We anticipate the next confirmation letter will arrive in April 2024 (for calendar year 2022) to report on the latest milestones.”
The Buncombe County deal runs for 14 years, according to that presentation made in 2020.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce, naturally, was heavily involved with the recruitment process, but information isn’t available yet on the incentives package, according to David Rhoades, communications director for the department.
“Although Pratt & Whitney’s grant was announced in October of 2020, the first active year for that grant is this year (2023) — and so, the company’s first required annual report to us is not due until March of next year,” Rhoades said via email. “Following our normal due diligence period, we’ll likely not be able to report results of that process until sometime next autumn (Fall of 2024).”
Rhoades added, “Perhaps it goes without saying given the above, but no state payments have yet been made on this grant.”
The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, a nonprofit, public-private partnership among the Department of Commerce and private companies, noted that the Pratt & Whitney project was facilitated in part by a Job Development Investment Grant, or JDIG, approved by the state.
“Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $15,543,000, paid over 12 years,” the partnership states on its website. “State payments only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets.”
That site also noted that Commerce department economists estimated the Pratt & Whitney facility could grow the state’s economy by $7.4 billion. It also notes that JDIG projects result in “positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.”
A lot of North Carolina entities were involved in the Pratt & Whitney project, according to the partnership. They include the partnership and the Department of Commerce, of course, as well as the General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the Appalachian Regional Commission, Duke Energy Carolinas, the Golden LEAF Foundation, Buncombe County, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce Community Betterment Foundation, and the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville and Buncombe County.
Clark Duncan, executive director of the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County, said via email he’s pleased with Pratt & Whitney’s progress.
“From my 15-year perspective in regional economic development, it’s rare and pretty exciting to see a project in active production in a state-of-the-art 1.2 million square foot building no less, just three years after announcement,” Duncan said.
Duncan said he went out to the plant the week before last when Pratt & Whitney hosted a peer group of 30 local manufacturers for a meeting and walking tour for the EDC’s Sustainability Council. He said the plant is a “showplace for advanced technologies, ‘industry 4.0’ practices and sustainability, and is in the final certification process to earn LEED Silver Status (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the global standard for healthy, efficient and green building practices.”
Pratt & Whitney and A-B Tech Community College are supposed to partner on a new $10 million training center near the plant, with about half that space dedicated to training Pratt & Whitney workers. But that hasn’t happened yet.
“Construction hasn’t yet begun on A-B Tech’s new facility, but we hope to know more in early 2024,” college spokesperson Kerri Glover said via email.
A-B Tech is training all of Pratt & Whitney’s new hires as planned, Glover said, but that’s taking place at the college’s Advanced Manufacturing Center.
All righty, then. That’s a whole lot of words to say it looks like Pratt & Whitney is on track so far.
I do appreciate readers like Jones keeping us on our toes, because it is important to see that these companies follow through on their promises.
If I hear anything more about working conditions out there, or any other details, I’ll pass them on. Maybe even without a gentle prodding.
[Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified Pratt & Whitney’s Dan Field in a caption accompanying a photo of the south Buncombe plant’s ribbon cutting.]
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. John Boyle has been covering Asheville and surrounding communities since the 20th century. You can reach him at (828) 337-0941, or via email at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/donate.
Thanks for the follow-up, John. We need more of that. For instance, there was bond issue back in the ’90’s dedicated to the water system. It would be interesting to know if that should have had an impact on the fiasco that occurred last Christmas.
If we want the regional economy to rely on more than tourism, and we want a long term strategy to increase local workforce technology and manufacturing skills, we need more employers like P&W.
Thank you for this update.
This news source is supported by me and one of our best resources for quality in-depth reporting.
Thanks for the follow-up, and may we have another follow-up in 2024?
Curious about the training at AB tech. Does AB tech do training for employees after they are hired, or do they train people who are interested in the job and then refer them to the company? Who pays AB tech? And do employees get paid while going through training?
Happy to check on this, Eileen. Thanks for the questions!
It is exciting to see new Industry in the Asheville area and I’m very pleased with the results so far.
Thanks for the followup. You’re right that it’s become standard operating procedure for these huge billion or trillion dollar multinational companies to basically extort millions of dollars from small local governments to build their factories as their stock prices and profit margins soar. There are starting to be some economics and urban planning studies that question the long-term benefits of this as opposed to putting the money into growing local businesses. For one thing, these companies don’t spread the wealth in terms of hiring local lawyers, printers, insurers, etc., because all that’s generated at corporate headquarters. Often they build very cheaply so they can pick up and move whenever there are better conditions someplace else. Twenty dollar an hour jobs don’t sound that great in this tourist economy. I’d like to know exactly what Jack Cecil is getting out of this? He certainly has a big ole grin on his face. And what kind of financial assistance have the City and County given to help grow and develop local businesses, especially those in the sustainability industries?
“we will sell military equipment to our allies, who sometimes use the equipment in ways we may not approve of.”
You make it sound as if the IDF painted their war planes a color Biden doesn’t like. The “things we may not approve of” are actually war crimes – bombing hospitals, carpet combing civilians, destroying civilian infrastructure, with casualties of more than 12,000 human beings, almost half of which are children. I think these details are pretty important.
But hey, what’s the lives of 4,000 plus children when American industrial progress is at stake? Shame on you for trivializing and erasing this enormous human cost.
This, 100%
Part of the reason P&W is behind schedule is due to the great excuse and all the supply chain issues that for followed. Also those who disagree with what’s going on in the Middle East need to educate themselves on the history of that region.
“we will sell military equipment to our allies, who sometimes use the equipment in ways we may not approve of.”
Do we approve of bombing children in Gaza? Is that acceptable? They have some bomb fragments in Gaza that shows the bombs came from the USA. Also, F-35s have been used to bomb Lebanon and Syria this year, again by Israel. Is that acceptable?
Does the bombings by F-35 only become unacceptable when they are used to bomb the USA, or do we include some other countries in that category?
Are there any limits to what our military equipment, subsided by US taxpayers, can be used for? Raytheon stock, like all military industrial stock, went way up after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and went up some more when Israel started bombing Gaza. (By the way, Ukraine is losing to Russia and the west is losing interest, so I guess the bombs and bombers fulfilled their purpose.)
And, we also sell some military equipment to our enemies, like for instance Russia. But maybe that is included in the statement “our allies”?
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/parts-made-by-u-s-companies-used-to-build-russian-cruise-missiles
Also an aside, but we spent about two trillion dollars in our war on Afghanistan, using lots of bombs and bombers, killing tens of thousands of people. End result – we replaced the Taliban with the Taliban. I guess the bombs and bombers served their purpose there too.
I guess if weapons are your product, then war is your marketing plan.
So basically, the Jones comments hiding as questions were all incorrect.
Long reponse to him, John, so let me summarize:
1. Employment is above committed levels
2. Production has begun
3. Pay rates appear in line with expectations, but not enough info provided to determibe the white collar/blue collar overall average
Jones and his small (very small actually) band of perhaps well intentioned, but absurdly naive folks, produce more letters, words,sentences, paragraphs and letters to editors and one would think possible. Impact of those efforts: absolutely nothing. Perhaps thank Putin for that
Thanks for the follow-up opinion piece, John. I wish it had an investigative piece instead. There are so many aspects of your piece that I could respond to, so I will choose just a couple. First of all, your assumption that our military is about American freedom and sovereignty shows that you don’t understand what our military has been used for around the world for more than a century. Our military follows corporations to countries to ensure that those countries have the freedom to exploit the local people and their resources, often resources that keep them alive. Just look around the world and see the devastation our country has wrought in the name of “freedom.” Freedom to bomb cities to smithereens so we can occupy and steal oil from oil fields in Syria, for example. Or maybe we just look at the killing of people in Central American countries so that American corporations can extract resources there. Pratt & Whitney is part of that war machine that sells its engines to Lockheed Martin who then makes fighter jets used in the many places we want to exploit or influence. It unfortunately is part of the ugly “global” citizen the US has become. It is easy to
I hit send before I was ready. Let me finish my thoughts:
let me continue (but first a correction to the above: I meant to write that that our military goes to countries to ensure that corporations can exploit the local countries) . . . It is so comforting and easy for us to claim the economic advantage we get here locally for a multi-national corporation like Raytheon(actually now RTX)/Pratt & Whitney. It is part of the self-centeredness that we here in the US embrace. It is almost quaint. That local economic advantage can blind us to the fact that P&W is part of massive destruction machine around the world. And, the economic advantage is a smokescreen since each of us pays out federal tax dollars to prop up the military-based economy of our country. I am happy for the few people who will get jobs at P&W. But with an almost trillion dollar annual defense budget, we each are contributing to the US destruction around the world. In a 2-year period P&W received about $10B in DoD contracts!! My research was probably incomplete too. They are awash in our tax dollars. They didn’t need the $100+ million dollars to be lured here. We didn’t need to start our journey down the road of being a hub for the military industrial complex.
John –
Thanks for the article. Lots of good information in there. But some things to consider about your reporting:
1. What is going on in Gaza is not an Israel-Hamas war. It is a genocide perpetrated by Israel upon civilians in Gaza, recognized as such around the world. The US supports it.
2. The US military is not in the business of maintaining our sovereignty and freedom. It is maintaining US global dominance. It is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr said.
3. Arms corporations like Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon will sell to just about anyone, not just our so-called “allies,” unless the US government restricts sales to specific sanctioned countries. They are equal opportunity war profiteers.
4. If the US doesn’t approve of how its weapons are being used by some country, it can simply stop the sales or transfers. Biden could pick up the phone today and stop this genocide in Gaza. By not doing so, he shows that the US does approve.
5. Coughing up the dough for economic development from the war industry actually brings far fewer jobs than it would if the same investment were made in almost any other sector. This is well-established research done by the Costs of War Project at Brown University. If this is how the game is played, let’s have a different game. One that sustains life, not one that profits from wars. Or is that not pragmatic?
6. Pratt & Whitney promised an average annual salary of $68,000. You report that the average hourly pay for machinists this month is $22.35. If a machinist puts in 40 hours per week for 52 weeks, that would be an annual salary of $46,488. That’s a far cry from the promised $68,000 and just a little more than the $41,600 deemed to be a living wage here in Asheville. And not in line with the salary schedule delineated in the tax incentive agreement, which listed a salary of $55,000 for machinists.
7. Pratt & Whitney claims that it has now hired 385 employees. Are we to take this at their word or will there be an audit? We know that arms corporations have a reputation for padding the numbers on their reports, sometimes including those who may be working for subcontractors (i.e., not new jobs to the area), those who may be employed in ancillary businesses, or those already employed by the corporation elsewhere, but now working online or in a visiting capacity. And it would be nice to know how many of the employees are people of color. How about investigating to see who those employees are and verifying the accuracy of the self-report by Pratt & Whitney?
8. The phrase “initial operating capability” appears to be an obfuscation on the part of Pratt & Whitney. They say this means that they have “started producing parts.” Are these just prototypes at this time or are they actually being sold and shipped? What parts and how many are we talking about? What percentage of “mature capability” are they operating at now? More investigation of this would be good.
9. In short, your conclusion that Pratt & Whitney is “on track” appears to be overblown. And I note that you never answered the question in the headline: “Should this corporation have gotten millions in incentives?” Many of us think not.
Oh, and one other thing. As I said in my email note to you, the working conditions at the Pratt & Whitney plant may merit a look. I’ve heard from 2 different former employees that they hated working there. I’ve also been told by a national reporter who investigates issues in the arms industry that that working conditions at such plants are notoriously bad and that there is often significant turnover. We know that one of the factors in Pratt & Whitney’s decision to move here is that NC is a so-called “right-to-work” state, a place where unionizing is very hard to do, if not impossible. How about interviewing some employees there at the plant, maybe anonymously, to see how they like working there? My guess is you might uncover some exploitative practices by the prestigious new employer in town. Multinational arms corporations are not known for caring about people.
Two former employees “hated” working there. That description probably fits 95% of the companies in the world, if not 100%. Might need to come up with something more substantial to warrant an investigation.
agreed Andrew. 1/2 % does not an investigation make.
John what is the breakdown of “local” employees by county? One of my biggest complaints is these tax breaks funded by Buncombe are actually for employees living in surrounding counties.
Yea I’d be curious to know where the “strategically placed billboards” are located. Has anyone seen one of them around? I haven’t, living in Asheville.
Anytime you go south so does quality and professional talent.
You missed the whole point Mr. Boyle. The more weapons in the already weapon-soaked world, the more violence, and the more violence, the more hatred, the less peace, the less prosperity and happiness. And maybe the more World War III. So it’s bad that P & W is following Buncombe County guidelines good.
I agree with Ken Jones’s response. And I am disappointed that AVL Watchdog has yet to add the feature where readers can like or dislike comments.
When I read this article, my first thought was why is John Boyle offering his views on the utility of our military, when he is now working for an investigative journalism publication.
I happen to agree with Ken’s assessment of the real purpose of our military and actually abhor other countries being referred to as our adversaries or enemies just because they have a different type of government and their own strategic geopolitical objectives. If you read the actual speeches of Putin and Xi, you will see they have much fewer bellicose views about foreign relations than Biden. They understand that the real existential threats to global humanity we should cooperate on fighting are the climate crisis and nuclear annihilation, both of which Biden has brought us closer to with his two new Cold Wars against Russia and China.
Also, regarding our supposed freedom, how free are Americans when everyone is a debt slave, with mortgage debt, student debt, auto debt, credit card debt and/or medical debt. 50% of Americans don’t have $400 in the bank to pay an unexpected expense. We’re free to choose which consumer products to buy, and that’s about it. My point is John’s opinion does not belong in an article where he is supposed to be investigating the performance of this company.
Second, I agree with Ken that John maybe should not take the word of the PR person for the company as to the number of employees hired and their pay. Otherwise he is merely serving as a stenographer for the corporation. Also, why did John not notice that based on this supposed salary of $20 an hour, the company is not meeting its promised average wage. If they are including white collar employees, perhaps John should have found out how many of them have been hired at what wage and how many of them are local.
Interesting that lauren praises Xi and Putin, Two leaders who would have her jailed or killed for her anti-government views if she lived their. You forgot to mention speech as a pretty important freedom we enjoy Lauren. It enables both you and I to freely express our views withouy worry of being arrested or worse. You should also look at both Russia’s and China’s Human rights records towards minority groups in their respective countries Lauren. They are, how should I say this, oh yeah, Atrocious at best and genocidal at worst. America is far from perfect Lauren, but living in the 2 countries whose leaders you seem to look up to seems to be much, much worse.
Hi Lauren, P&W does include white collar employees with their totals for wages, as it’s an average of all employees at the local facility. I mention it’s an average above, but I’m happy to check with P&W on the number of white collar employees here. It’s a fair point. Also, I believe the state and county have to audit the employment claims, as P&W cannot be eligible for any incentives until they meet required employment levels. The county responded above, although these reports are lagging, while the state said the first report isn’t due yet. I can ask the county for the first report they have, but keep in mind it’s not current. We do not have auditing power over P&W, but I’ll also request a detailed list of employees. As far as your global concerns, I think we’ll have to agree to disagree. Thanks, John
Thanks for the update John. Those who are upset with Pratt and Whitney just because their engines are installed on fighters used by Saudi Arabia and Israel are directing their ire at the wrong target. By federal law, no U.S. company may sell military technology or hardware to a foreign government without specific approval of the U.S. Congress. So those opposed should direct their objections towards our elected senators and congressman. Pratt and Whitney is simply trying to make a profit by building engines for commercial and military aircraft. As a former Air Force pilot, I’ve appreciated the safe, reliable jet engines they’ve provided our military. Fortunately most Buncombe residents are happy to host a company that contributes to our local economy and to our nation’s security.
At those wages I doubt any of the machine operators will be running out and buying a house. Maybe a used truck if they have good credit. The high wages will be saved for the white collar employees that come from out of state.
$20/hr may seem great somewhere else but in Asheville, not so much. In a town where a 2br apartment is approaching $1500/mo.. A single person can’t live off that. I work at Pratt and Whitney and Dan swears this is great pay for us but it’s not. The air quality is terrible, we are belittled by “shirts of a different color” and the wages aren’t enough to live. I’m all for more manufacturers and more jobs in our area but you have to make impacts in the community the right way.. PAY!! PW does do a lot of volunteer work around Asheville and we as employees are almost required to participate.. While I understand the good in volunteering, paying their employees enough to LIVE should be a lot closer to the top of the list instead of trying to put on a good face for the ticked off community.
It’s good to hear from a PW employee on here. Honest question: how do you feel about the fact that the company manufactures parts for military use? Do you think PW’s association with military contracting (especially to foreign govs) has any impact on its ability to recruit workers, or is it all about the pay?
The research and reports I’ve read say that workers mostly just want a good job, but they would be happier to be making products that are healthy and good for people rather than war machines and weapons. It’s not the workers who are making these decisions, it’s the owners. This is why many of us advocate for converting the war economy to one that addresses the climate emergency instead. Locally, we call upon Pratt & Whitney to make windmills, not war machines. Of course, high speed rail, solar collectors, and other manufactured solutions would be good too.
No doubt the white collar employees that were recruited from out of state are being compensated at a scale where they can afford to live here. There are similar employers in the area where the wages are much higher. I guess PW thinks it’s worth $10/ hr to tell people you work in the shiny new building. Sounds like PW is going to be a training ground where one can get a few years experience and then go find a job where they are more appreciated.
What benefits does P & W include for their employees?
I’d much rather my tax dollars go to helping local businesses and residents. This is old info, but the last I knew, Pratt and Whitney was worth $20B, and Raytheon, their parent company, $80B. Why do they need our money? And why can’t they free up some to pay ALL their employees a living wage? I could be wrong, but I think I remember Raytheon’s CEO proclaiming how well their stock did after Russia attacked Ukraine, and then again with the Israel/Palestine war. Gee, how proud we should be to be a part of all that?