Good afternoon,
Sometimes good or OK news gets lost in the coverage of the pandemic.
This week, Delaware scored a couple of significant victories, with the Council for Development Finance endorsing financial packages for Barclays and Duratec.
A few months ago, the $2.5 million performance grant for Barclays would have generated some pushback. Banks have ample resources.
This time around the squawking seemed to be limited to state Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, a longtime critic of what he describes as corporate welfare.
As you might remember, Barclays made the puzzling move of transferring Delaware jobs to an area of New Jersey with a high cost of living. Barclays had also received some generous subsidies for adding jobs in the Garden State.
But the world has changed in recent months and the 300 or more call center jobs are badly needed by Barclays and Delaware.
It’s a small price to pay in a world where the state shelled out $30 million on Covid-19 test kits.
Barclays has also been a good public citizen in Delaware as it provided funding for Covid-19-related efforts.
To the south, plans call for Duratec and related entities to convert the former PPG paint and coatings plant in Dover. The site will manufacture increasingly popular vinyl fences and railings in a $10 million-plus project. More details are expected in the next month or so.
Despite the views of those who continually grouse about the business state’s business climate, Delaware has its advantages.
So far this year, we have seen Amazon, Solo Cup (Dart Container), Dot Foods and Avalon Industries confirm expansion or relocation plans that will create badly need jobs.
Also, the Delaware Business Times, reported that textile products maker Avalon will occupy much of the Dover Post newspaper building and bring 40 jobs. The company has been based in Baltimore.
Amazon is fast-tracking a fulfillment center at the former GM Boxwood plant and Solo is adding consolidating distribution sites in Maryland into one facility near Delaware City. Earlier in the year, Dot Foods opened a distribution center near Solo’s future home.
While the more than 1,000 permanent jobs generated by the above-mentioned projects are a drop in the buck when compared to the tens of thousands out of work, the decisions show the state is competitive when compared to its East Coast peers.
As the state economy recovers from the Covid-19 crisis, job retention and creation will remain a priority.
The downside here is the continuing impact from the loss of higher-paying blue and white-collar jobs as companies reduce their management layers. DuPont, GM Chrysler and Bank of America (MBNA) come to mind.
In this environment, new jobs are welcome, even if they don’t do much to replace those high-paid corporate positions that became fewer in a process that now dates back three decades. Keep in mind that DuPont once employed 25,000 in Delaware. DuPont and its spin-offs now employ about a third of the peak figure.
Enjoy your evening. This newsletter winds up its week on Friday and returns on Tuesday. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer
