After Wolfspeed worker killed on job, NC labor department opens investigation
A Wolfspeed employee died Thursday on the job, prompting the North Carolina Department of Labor to open an investigation into his death.
The fatality occurred Oct. 13 at Wolfspeed’s Research Triangle Park campus, said department spokesperson Erin Wilson. The cause of death was reported to be electrocution, Wilson confirmed.
Multiple former Wolfspeed employees told The News & Observer that the worker was a facilities electrician named Vincent Farrell, who was 45 years old and lived in Durham.
“I had the pleasure of working with, and managing Vinny for a number of years at Cree,” said Joshua Brown, who was a facilities operations and maintenance supervisor at the company until 2017. “He was an incredible person, well-liked by his peers, and a very knowledgeable electrician. Learning about his death is extremely saddening. He will be missed dearly.”
Wolfspeed is a growing semiconductor manufacturer that operated under the name Cree until last fall. It employs around 2,500 people in the Triangle. The company is headquartered in Research Triangle Park and is preparing to expand after receiving a massive state incentive package in September to construct an 1,800-job facility in Chatham County.
In the past 10 years, state Department of Labor investigations into the company have uncovered 17 workplace safety violations, including six serious violations. The most recent was found in 2015. The state will release more details about the incident following an investigation which typically takes months to conclude.
In a statement to The N&O, Wolfspeed did not share whether it will re-evaluate its safety procedures in the wake of Farrell’s death.
“Wolfspeed is deeply saddened that a fatality occurred at our Durham, North Carolina, facility on Oct. 13,” said Melinda Walker, the company’s director of corporate communications. “Our thoughts and condolences are with this employee’s family during this difficult time.”
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.
This story was originally published October 17, 2022 at 3:36 PM.
