NC gives incentive for Raytheon plant in Asheville to expand, add 325 jobs post-Helene
A major jet engine parts facility in Asheville could grow after North Carolina officials Tuesday awarded another incentive to the defense and aerospace manufacturer RTX Corp., previously named Raytheon Technologies. News of this potential expansion comes four months after Hurricane Helene swept through Asheville, flooding sections of the city and surrounding communities.
“Western North Carolina’s economy took it on the chin after Hurricane Helene, yet still it remains an incredible place to work and do business,” Gov. Josh Stein said in a statement.
RTX is the parent of Pratt & Whitney, which since 2022 has operated a turbine airfoil production plant in the Western North Carolina city. Today, the company employs around 900 workers at the site, exceeding the hiring goals under its initial 2020 state jobs agreement. Most incentive-backed economic projects have failed to achieve their initial jobs targets since North Carolina launched its performance-base job development investment grant (JDIG) program in 2003, The News & Observer has reported.
On Tuesday, the N.C. Economic Investment Committee approved a second grant worth up to $4.2 million in additional tax benefits if RTX creates 325 more jobs and invests another $285 million at the plant by the end of the decade. This next batch of jobs would pay an average wage of at least $62,413.
Pratt & Whitney is one of three RTX divisions, which also include Raytheon and the Charlotte-based Collins Aerospace.
RTX didn’t receive county or city incentives to expand in North Carolina. Asheville is in Buncombe County, which the state ranks as a Tier 3, or relatively less economically distressed. North Carolina typically won’t award a jobs grant in a Tier 3 county unless local governments offer their own incentives, but the state Department of Commerce said Tuesday it seeks to waive this rule in light of Helene.
Pratt & Whitney’s presence in Asheville hasn’t been universally welcomed. Shortly after the facility was announced in 2020, the group Reject Raytheon AVL formed to protest its operations.
“We are opposed to military industrial work, but specifically in our community in Asheville, if that’s what they’re going to continue to do,” Ken Jones, a group organizer, said in a phone interview.
RTX is among the world’s largest defense contractors, making fighter jets, missiles, military sensors and satellites. On Tuesday, the company reported generating around $80 billion in revenue last year, a 9% annual increase.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 2:03 PM.
