Gov. Bev Perdue today announced that Premier Inc., the largest healthcare alliance in the nation, will move its headquarters from California and expand in Charlotte, adding 300 jobs over the next five years and investing $17.7 million. The project was made possible in part by a state Job Development Investment Grant.
“North Carolina prides itself on being a state that promotes innovation,” Perdue said. “Premier’s pioneering approach to healthcare shows that we have created a business climate in which innovative companies can prosper and grow.”
Premier is owned by more than 200 not-for-profit hospitals and healthcare systems – ranging from small and rural to large inner-city facilities – which share clinical knowledge and leverage purchasing volume to improve healthcare quality while reducing costs. The alliance provides services to more than 2,200 U.S. hospitals and more than 63,000 other healthcare providers.
The company currently employs more than 750 workers in North Carolina. The 300 new jobs will pay an overall average wage of $69,400 a year, not including benefits. That is higher than the Mecklenburg County annual average of $49,400.
According to Susan DeVore, Premier president and CEO, “Considering our existing presence and past history in the area, it is a natural fit for Premier to be headquartered in Charlotte. We’re excited and proud to truly be a Charlotte-based organization.”
The state Economic Investment Committee today voted to award a Job Development Investment Grant to Premier to facilitate this expansion.
Under the terms of the JDIG, the company is eligible to receive a grant equal to 60 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs for each of the nine years in which the company meets annual performance targets. If Premier creates the jobs, makes the investment, pays the wages called for under the agreement and sustains them for nine years, the JDIG could yield as much as $4.09 million in maximum benefits for the company.
In addition, up to $1.36 million could be added to the state’s Industrial Development Fund for infrastructure improvements in economically distressed counties. When a JDIG is awarded in the state’s more economically prosperous counties such as Mecklenburg, 25 percent of the grant award is allocated to the Industrial Development Fund to encourage economic development in less prosperous counties.
Through Gov. Perdue’s JobsNOW initiative (www.jobsnow.nc.gov), the state continues to work aggressively to create jobs, train and retrain its workforce, and lay the foundation for a strong and sustainable economic future.
Other partners that assisted with this announcement include: the N.C. Department of Commerce, Charlotte Chamber, City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.
For more information about Premier Inc., including job opportunities, visit: www.premierinc.com.