CHARLOTTE, NC – Moving might not seem like a big deal until you’re given a bill for tens of millions of dollars.
That is what has happened to Chiquita. The Charlotte Observer is reporting that Chiquita Brands International’s exit from Charlotte is expected to cost the company between $25 to $40 million.
Much of that money will go to paying employee severance, relocation payments and the cost of exiting its Charlotte lease, which runs through 2025, according to the Observer. The company didn’t specify how much those would cost.
Other expected costs include $10 million to $12 million in write-offs of improvements to its building and office equipment and incentives repayments that are expected to total $3 million.
Initially, Chiquita was promised about $22 million worth of state and local incentives to locate its headquarters in Charlotte on the condition that the company would stay there for at least 10 years. With the closure of its Charlotte headquarters, the incentives that the company has received must be paid back.
To date, Charlotte and Mecklenburg County say they’ve given the company nearly $500,000 each, and the state said it has paid about $1.5 million, according to the Charlotte Observer.
In securities filings, the company said that closing the headquarters will take between 12 and 18 months.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to follow Chiquita's exit from Charlotte.
