UPS to Expand in N.C., Creating Nearly 600 Jobs

The company aims to increase the "speed and flexibility" of its services.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — UPS Inc. said on Tuesday it will add more than 590 jobs in central North Carolina by expanding its Greensboro hub and building nearby a new center from which to distribute packages by vehicle to customers.

The package car center in Graham will generate about 450 jobs, while another approximately 140 positions will be created at the hub, according to Gov. Roy Cooper’s office, which along with UPS announced the $316 million investment projects happening over four years.

Atlanta-based UPS already employs close to 2,500 workers in the state. Cooper’s news release said the upcoming jobs will pay average annual salaries of over $65,000.

“The new and expanded facilities will increase the speed and flexibility for connecting businesses and customers throughout the state, across the country and around the globe,” Derrick Johnson, president of UPS’s South Atlantic District, said in the release.

The announcement came minutes after an economic investment panel awarded UPS a state government financial incentives package that could provide the company $10.2 million in payments over 10 years if it meets investment and job creation thresholds. Memphis, Tennessee, was also in the mix to land the project, according to a Department of Commerce official speaking at a panel meeting.

Separately on Tuesday, Cooper's administration announced that pork rinds snack maker Benestar Brands will build a new tortilla chip plant in Kings Mountain, creating about 130 jobs.

Benestar, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Evans Food Group, also could receive $1.2 million in payments from the state over 12 years as part of a similar award agreement approved by the incentives panel.

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