TRIAD – Call it the tale of two sets of Dell Inc. incentives.

In the wake of the computer manufacturer announcing its Triad plant closing Oct. 7, Winston-Salem and Forsyth County officials have received commitments for a repayment of all economic incentives paid to the company.

Dell acknowledged in a letter Oct. 20 that it would repay $26.5 million of local incentives to the city, county, local Millenium Fund and Forsyth County Development Corp.

But the state of North Carolina only expects to retrieve 18 percent of the $8.5 million provided to Dell as part of the largest state and local incentives package in North Carolina history. Had Dell kept the plant open for a long enough period, its incentives could have totaled more than $300 million.

State officials announced Tuesday Dell had repaid $1.5 million in Job Development Investment Grant incentives. But a N.C. Department of Commerce official acknowledged to The High Point Enterprise earlier this month that Dell isn’t required to repay remaining incentives.

The state’s agreement with Dell didn’t include enough provisions for what’s known as “clawbacks” to retrieve all the incentives money, said Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham, who voted against the state incentives bill five years ago.

“There were several major tax breaks made available to Dell that have never included clawbacks. They were general tax policy, from which many firms had received a benefit, which includes both tax credits for investments in equipment as well as free job training,” said Luebke, associate professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said the local incentives offered by the city and Forsyth County did have strict payback provisions, especially if Dell didn’t keep the plant open for a certain period of time.

Dell opened its computer manufacturing plant in southeast Winston-Salem in October 2005 after picking the state in November 2004. At one time projected to have from 1,500 to 1,700 employees, Dell instead will eliminate the jobs of 905 workers as it phases out production through January.

pjohnson@hpe.com | 888-3528