JetZero breaks ground on massive Greensboro plant. Here’s what to know

California aerospace startup JetZero officially broke ground June 15 on its Greensboro manufacturing campus, a project state officials say could become the largest private jobs project in North Carolina history. The company has pledged to create up to 14,500 jobs and invest $4.7 billion by 2037.

FULL STORY: JetZero lands in Greensboro, as construction starts on record-setting, NC-funded site

Here are key takeaways:

• JetZero is developing a blended-wing passenger aircraft called the Z4, which the company says will be at least 30% more aerodynamic than traditional designs and seat up to 250 passengers. The first demonstrator flight is planned for 2027.
• Gov. Josh Stein invoked the Wright brothers at the ceremony, saying that while North Carolina was “first in flight” in 1903, “today, we are the future of flight.”
• The company must hire at least 8,000 workers over 11 years at average wages above $80,000 to comply with its state incentive deal. North Carolina awarded JetZero more than $1 billion in payroll tax breaks over 37 years, plus $450 million in direct appropriations.
• JetZero CEO Tom O’Leary credited North Carolina’s “growth-oriented mindset” for winning the headquarters, pointing to the Piedmont Triad International Airport’s purchase of a former golf course as a development site and a $20 million taxiway bridge built by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
• The 14,564-job target breaks the state record previously held by Vietnamese automaker VinFast, which promised 7,500 jobs in Chatham County in 2022 but never built its factory.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.