City and county leaders in Charlotte, N.C. seemed caught off guard Monday when Chiquita Brands International announced it was merging with Ireland-based competitor Fyffes. They’re doing so despite the fact that Chiquita is less than two years into a $22 million incentives deal with Charlotte, Mecklenburg County and the state of North Carolina.
The city and county’s portion of the deal explicitly calls for Chiquita to keep the company’s global headquarters in Charlotte for 10 years. Local folks were rightfully puzzled. What part of “10 years” didn’t the Chiquita executives understand? Was the banana company trying to pull a fast one? Should local officials demand repayment of the more than $1 million they’ve already shelled out? And if they do, does that jeopardize the hundreds of good-paying jobs Chiquita has brought from Cincinnati?
Mayor Patrick Cannon initially said it likely wouldn’t affect Chiquita’s incentives package. But Mecklenburg Economic Development Director John Allen called it a violation of the agreement, adding that it’s up to the city and county to decide whether to enforce it.
A day later, city and county officials declined to say whether they’ll go after Chiquita. Cannon said the city needs to take a “deeper dive” on the issue and explore the definition of “headquarters.”
CEO Ed Lonergan says the merger won’t have a major impact on those jobs.
Perhaps not. But ChiquitaFyffes will be the world’s largest banana company, with annual revenue of $4.6 billion. You can expect its shareholders to wield more clout than Mecklenburg taxpayers.
Let’s say that, three years from now, the company sees a chance to reap $40 million over the next decade by shifting its Charlotte positions overseas. Do you think Lonergan would forgo that windfall because, well, it wouldn’t be a very nice thing to do to the fine folks in Charlotte?
