Perdue announces 350 new jobs with Reed Elsevier expansion

Gov. Bev Perdue announced Wednesday, Feb. 15, that Reed Elsevier Inc.—a world-leading provider of professional information solutions—will expand its operations in Cary. The company plans to create 350 jobs over the next five years and invest $1.75 million. The project was made possible in part by state grants from the Job Development Investment Grant.
“Creating jobs is my top priority and the fact that globally competitive companies continue to make investments like these proves we have a top-notch business climate and a tremendously talented workforce,” Perdue said. “Our legacy of strong investments in education and economic are continuing to pay off.”
Reed Elsevier was formed in 1993 when Reed International joined Elsevier NV, and the two entities focused on professional information solutions in the science, medical, legal, risk management and business-to-business sectors. Reed Elsevier currently consists of five major business units including: Elsevier, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, LexisNexis Legal & Professional, Reed Exhibitions and Reed Business Information. As part of this project, Reed Elsevier will concentrate additional marketing, sales, customer support and product development in the Wake County facility.
“We’re laser-focused on delivering greater value and better outcomes for our customers,” said Mike Walsh, CEO of LexisNexis Legal & Professional. “The expansion in Cary supports our mission to bring innovative products and services to market, even faster than today.”
The company currently employs more than 300 people in Cary and Charlotte. The group employs more than 30,000 people globally, including more than 16,000 in North America.
While individual wages for the positions will vary by job function, the overall average for the new jobs will be $91,644, plus benefits. The average annual wage in Wake County is $44,980.
To help facilitate this expansion, the state Economic Investment Committee voted to award a Job Development Investment Grant to Reed Elsevier. JDIGs are awarded only to new and expanding businesses and industrial projects whose benefits exceed the costs to the state and which would not be undertaken in North Carolina without the grant.
Under the terms of the JDIG, the company is eligible to receive a grant equal to 75 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs for each of the 10 years in which the company meets annual performance targets. If Reed Elsevier meets the targets called for under the agreement and sustains them for 10 years, the JDIG could yield $8.86 million in maximum benefits for the company.
In addition, up to $2.95 million could be added to the state’s utility fund for infrastructure improvements in economically distressed counties. When a JDIG is awarded in Tier 3 counties such as Wake, 25 percent of the grant is allocated to this fund to encourage economic development in less prosperous areas.
Other partners who assisted with this project include: the N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Community Colleges, the Town of Cary and Cary Economic Develelopment.
Through Perdue’s JobsNOW initiative, the state continues to work aggressively to create well-paying jobs, train and retrain its workforce, and lay the foundation for a strong and sustainable economic future.
For more information about Reed Elsevier, including job opportunities, visit www.reedelsevier.com.