August 4, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
WILMINGTON, Del. – After considering its options for a new headquarters, DuPont ’s spinoff company Chemours will remain in Wilmington, Del.
Chemours decision to remain in Delaware will keep 1,000 employees working in the area—an area where they were already established. Chemours currently operates out of DuPont’s former headquarters and maintains about 800 employees in that building, with another 200 based in research sites, Delaware Online reported this morning. DuPont shifted to a new location as it prepares for a merger with Dow Chemicals. In early December, the two companies agreed to a merger which is expected to create $130 billion in market value. The combined company will be named DowDuPont and will be the second-largest chemical company in the world behind Germany-based BASF SE.
Chemours, which launched last year, considered several states for its new global headquarters, including Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. As the company looked at locations, there were a number of considerations to be made, including fiscal sense, a deep talent pool and a place that could offer employees “the right combination of amenities and conveniences.”
But after talking with local economic development leaders, Mark Vergnano, president and chief executive officer of Chemours, said the decision came down to what made financial sense. In other words, which state provided the best incentive package for the company.
“Chemours has a first-rate workforce, and the state of Delaware has a rich talent pool, so we believe Delaware’s a great place for maintaining our superb employee base. That’s a competitive advantage for us,” Vergnano said in a statement.
Recent changes to the Delaware’s corporate tax structure brought about by the Delaware Competes Act were key components in Chemours’ decision, the company said in a statement. Local governments also chipped in with various incentives as well, according to reports. If Chemours had left Delaware, that could have been a big blow to the city of Wilmington and the state, with the loss of more than $500 million in annual revenue streams. Not to mention the residual impacts the departing workforce would have.
Delaware is no stranger to job-loss anxiety. People employed by AstraZeneca in Delaware were nervous over potential job losses as that company undergoes a financial restructuring expected to save more than $1 billion. Employees from that company appear to have been spared, as pink slips were handed out to employees in Pennsylvania earlier this summer.
Delaware officials have been looking for ways to make that state more attractive to pharma and biotech companies. In November Chris Yochim, chairman of the Delaware BioScience Association, told the Delaware News Journal that recent downsizing from companies like DuPont and AstraZeneca has created a pool of readily available talent for entrepreneurial minded startups looking for a state to call home. Mike Bowman, president of the Delaware Technology Park, believes the state should look to foster a robust health sciences industry, which he said is less risky than state leaders pursuing more typical manufacturing jobs.
