Dell Plant Closing

Last week, officials at the local Dell plant in Winston-Salem made the announcement that the plant would be closing. Only 4 years, almost to the day, after the plant opened its doors for production, the question at hand has become whether or not the incentives spent on luring Dell to the Triad area were well spent.

In 2004, the North Carolina General Assembly approved $242 million in incentives, the City of High Point approved $8.8 million, Guilford County and the City of Greensboro approved $12.4 million, Forsyth County approved $18.3 million, Davidson County commissioners approved $23.1 million, Winston-Salem City Council approved 18.9 million, totaling $323.5 million in incentives. Not only is there a monetary loss, but more importantly, a loss of 905 jobs. At its peak, the Winston-Salem Dell plant employed around 1,400 people. Earlier this year, layoffs began, and rumors of the plant’s closing soon began to look like reality.

In a recent edition of The Triad Business Journal, Andrew Brod, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at UNC Greensboro, commented on the issue, "It's government trying to influence business, and while I don't think we can say government and business have to completely disengage, its a reminder of the risks of putting taxpayer money up for private interests."

One would hope that local government officials have taken note of this experience. What will happen in the future if a similar business proposition comes along? Will our local government decide to ask taxpayers to pay for more incentives? And will you, a local taxpayer, support those decisions?

-Michael B. Blevins, Marketing Coordinator