Good afternoon everyone,
News that Barclays will move 500 jobs to New Jersey has been the only blemish on a good year for the Delaware economy.
The positive news continued this week as FMC announced plans to spend $50 million at Newark’s Stine research center.
Stine had been a quiet place in recent years as DuPont cut costs. That changed when FMC in 2017 acquired a lucrative crop protection product line and R&D site from DuPont.
The deal saved hundreds of jobs that could have gone elsewhere, perhaps one day to FMC’s other R&D site in New Jersey.
The sale was part of a deal with antitrust regulators that allowed the combining of the Dow and DuPont agriscience businesses as part of the merger and spinoff of DowDuPont.
Barclays, meanwhile, is consolidating jobs to its campus in New Jersey, a state that has showered tens of millions of dollars in incentives on the company.
What was different this time around in Delaware was the muted response from government and business.
While there were scattered comments about the business climate, the prevailing view was that Delaware had little leverage in keeping Barclays jobs in the state.
With the possible exception of public schools, Delaware offers a superior business environment to northern New Jersey. Then again, property taxes that support those Jersey schools can run $20,000 on a modest property – the equivalent of private school tuition.
Meanwhile, FMC will get about $1.6 million in state incentives in return for making the $50 million investment.
The state will quickly recoup its investment in the form of income taxes from well-paid researchers at the site.
The blow from the loss of Barclays jobs will be cushioned by openings at other financial services employers in Delaware and adjacent areas and a strong overall economy.
A quick look at a state labor department site showed 1,200 more job openings than resumes.
Enjoy your Wednesday. Delaware Business Now’s newsletter will not be posted on July 4 and 5 and will return on July 8.
If this newsletter was passed along, sign up here to get your own daily email report at no charge. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.
