Chiquita closing Charlotte headquarters

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Channel 9 was first to report Wednesday that Chiquita is closing its Charlotte headquarters.

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The news was reported in an email sent out to all county commissioners from the Mecklenburg County manager Dena Diorio.

READ DIORIO'S EMAIL

The closure means approximately 300 employees without a job.

"While we are disappointed that the Chiquita headquarters will no longer be located in Charlotte, our attention now should be on the approximately 300 impacted employees and their families," Diorio said in the email.

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An email was sent out to Chiquita employees Wednesday by Interim Chief Executive Officer Brian Kocher.

READ CHIQUITA'S EMAIL

The city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County will split more than $1 million as a refund for the early departure.

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"We thank Chiquita for contributions to the community during their time in Charlotte," said Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter, "Chiquita's leadership has assured us that the company will fulfill the obligations outlined in the economic development grant agreement. I also want to encourage local employers to consider the impacted employees and their families, as many of them seek other job opportunities in our community."

In 2011 the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee approved $22 million in incentives for Chiquita to move its headquarters to Charlotte.

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"The story of Chiquita's relocation to Charlotte is a good one. They were attracted among other reasons by our airport and the large number of Spanish speaking professionals in our workforce. We appreciate that since 2011 Chiquita provided several hundred good jobs, bringing many new families here from elsewhere and employing many locally. As the sponsor of the Chiquita Classic for the past three years, they brought positive exposure and helped to solidify Charlotte's growing reputation in the sports world. Their support for other civic causes from education to economic development has been impressive. We wish the very best to the company in its next chapter and to all the employees and their families," said CEO of Charlotte Chamber Bob Morgan in a statement.

Former CEO of Chiquita Fernando Aguirre tweeted, "Just learned of Chiquita's decision to close HQ. Disappointed. CLT is a GR8 community. Most families who moved were very happy."

The incentives package used to lure Chiquita to Charlotte from Cincinnati, Ohio continues to be controversial.

Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Michael Barnes said he'll encourage City Council members to take a cautious view of future incentive grants to businesses.

"I hope it will make people who are always pushing on us to approve these things pump their brakes a little bit," Barnes said. "I hope what this will do is make us even more cautious about how we enter into these arrangements."

County Commissioner Matthew Ridenhour agreed.

"This whole situation illustrates one of the concerns that we have with business incentive grants and economic development grants and that is if we lure these businesses here what prevents them from leaving?" Ridenhour said.

Channel 9 will have team coverage on the full impact of Chiquita's closure on Eyewitness News at 5 and 6 p.m.

Follow reporter Jenna Deery on Twitter for updates on this developing story.

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