Watch Now
Indianapolis News and Headlines

Actions

Pence to review Carrier's plans to move

The company has received both state and federal grants the last two years
Posted at 4:23 PM, Feb 15, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-15 23:41:07-05

INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mike Pence announced Monday that he plans to review Carrier's plans to move its plant from Indianapolis to Mexico. 

The company has received both state and federal taxpayer dollars for job training in the last two years.

RELATED | Carrier received more than $5M in federal stimulus funds

"As governor, I was profoundly disappointed to learn that Carrier Corporation and United Technologies would relocate jobs and operations to Mexico, costing hardworking Hoosiers more than 2,100 jobs. My heart goes out to all the families and communities that are affected by this news," Gov. Pence said in a statement. 

 
 
Gov. Pence said he has instructed the Indiana Economic Development Corporation to review all incentive contracts previously offered to Carrier and United Technologies to evaluate options to get back taxpayer money. 

All incentives provided by the IEDC are performance-based, meaning that a company must comply with the expansion or job creation commitments agreed to in their contract with the IEDC in order to be eligible for tax credits and training grants. 

Currently, the IEDC has existing contracts to provide training grants with Carrier Corporation and United Technologies. If the companies are found to be non-complaint with those terms, the IEDC will try to take back those grants. 

The IEDC started a contract with Carrier Corporation in 2013 to provide up to $200,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans, $197,815.76 of that contract has been awarded. If the company closes its Indianapolis facility, or if the layoffs affect their job commitments in the contract, the IEDC will try to get that money back, according to the statement. 

In addition to the money from the state, Carrier received more than $5 million for its Indianapolis facility from President Obama's stimulus plan. The Department of Energy awarded Carrier $5.1 million in clean energy tax credits in December 2013. 

"I spoke with a Carrier executive late last week and called on the company to return the federal tax credit. I let him know that the tax credit they received was contingent upon job creation in the United States, and that hard working taxpayers, especially the 2,100 Hoosiers who learned last week they will lose their jobs, will expect that money back. Carrier indicated that they intended to meet their obligations, and I intend to hold them to that.," Sen. Joe Donnelly said in a statement. 

The Heating and Air Conditioning Alliance of Indiana released a statement Monday about Carrier's decision: 

The Heating and Air Conditioning Alliance of Indiana strongly disapproves the decision of Carrier to move their Indianapolis operations to Mexico.

While technically within the rights as a private company, the decision is short-sighted and fails to account for changing market conditions.

Buyers are increasingly favoring brands that are active in their local communities. Carrier has been in the Indianapolis community for years. Moving away will inevitably result in an adverse impact to their market share here.

We encourage Carrier to work with union leaders, City of Indianapolis officials and state leadership to find a shared solution that will keep their plant in Indianapolis, and as the Heating and Air Conditioning Alliance of Indiana, we would be happy to have a seat at the table to represent the hundreds of Indiana companies using their products.
 

PREVIOUS | Trump weighs in on Carrier relocation to Mexico | TRUMP: Carrier should be taxed for their goods after move to Mexico  

------------

Download the new and improved RTV6 app to get the latest news on the go and receive alerts to your phone

Sign up to have the latest news headlines delivered straight to your email inbox

 

 

 

Scripps Only Content 2015

Download the WRTV app on all devices!