Honda Aircraft Co. will develop and build a longer-range version of its light aircraft in central North Carolina, generating 280 additional jobs, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office announced Tuesday.
The company said last month that it would produce for commercial use the proposed HondaJet 2600 model, which it had unveiled two years ago. The new model is billed by the company as the first light jet able to fly nonstop across the continental U.S., with up to 11 occupants.
The production decision means Honda Aircraft, which is headquartered at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, will invest another $56 million in Guilford County.
The minimum average salaries for the new jobs will be over $88,700, or $31,000 above the Guilford County average, according to state officials.
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“We are thrilled that North Carolina will be home to the new Honda light jet that represents the next chapter of our skyward mobility,” company CEO Hideto Yamasaki is quoted as saying in a Cooper news release.
The project will create production lines for the HondaJet 2600, while significant research and development also will be required, the release said.
Honda Aircraft already has spent more than $245 million on its hub at the airport and has more than 800 full-time or contract workers in Guilford County. The company builds a smaller model under the HondaJet Elite name.
The company could receive from the state up to $3.4 million in cash payments over 12 years if it meets investment and job-creation requirements through the state’s Job Development Investment Grant program. A state committee approved the award agreement Tuesday.
A document summarizing the agreement said Honda Aircraft considered Greensboro and Albertville, Alabama, as finalists for the project.
