It has emerged that the US city of Cincinnati offered fresh produce marketer Chiquita Brands International a seat on the board of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, as well as US$6m in loans, to try and convince the marketer to abandon the planned relocation of its global headquarters to Charlotte in the state of North Carolina.
As reported in the Cincinnati Enquirer, officials responsible for the city and surrounding county were willing to write off half of that US$6m if the company retained 270 jobs in Cincinnati and created an additional 90.
Chiquita chief executive Fernando Aguirre recently complained that Cincinnati had not done enough to convince the company to stay, with one major concern reportedly revolving around the cost of relocating staff to Cincinnati from other offices.
Charlotte, meanwhile, was able to provide grants and tax breaks worth a potential US$22.7m, while its airline connections and workforce diversity were also said to have been more attractive.
Evidently the criticism has stung the local authorities in Cincinnati, with information passed to the Enquirer suggesting that officials there felt they had offered Chiquita plenty of incentive to stay put.
According to documents seen by the newspaper, the city initially offered a tax credit on job creation against net profits tax liability, which was later upgraded to a proposed refund on property investment to the tune of US$688,000 per year.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati's proposed loan package ultimately rose to US$6m, with the offer of a seat on the airport board coming in late September 2011.
Chiquita had earlier raised concerns about the reduced number of flights out of the airport, the Enquirer added.
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