A celebratory mood is running through Virginia and nowhere is that more evident than in the Governor’s Mansion in Richmond. During the 2009 gubernatorial campaign, Bob McDonnell campaigned on “Bob’s for Jobs,” an issue that struck a chord with Virginians who were in the midst of financially difficult times.
True to his word, the Governor landed a big one with the announcement this week that Northrop Grumman had chosen to relocate to the Commonwealth.
Virginia had been in the running, along with Maryland and DC, for defense giant Northrop Grumman who wanted to move their headquarters from Los Angeles to the Washington, DC, area, bringing 300 jobs and reported earnings of $35 billion a year.
Incentive packages were offered by all three localities including $12 to $15 million from Virginia and up to $25 million from DC and Maryland.
Virginia’s location, an easy commute for employees traveling to the Pentagon where a huge chunk of their work is done, was a big draw along with lower corporate income taxes (6% as compared to 8.25% for Maryland and 9.975% for DC) and competitive real estate taxes.
Northrop Grumman is a Fortune 100 company with 100,000 employees worldwide. In Virginia they employ over 30,000 including 20,000 at the Newport News shipbuilding operation.
