Compass to Expand Charlotte HQ

Compass Group plans to add 200 jobs and invest $8.5 million in its Charlotte, NC, headquarters operation over the next four years. Some of the jobs will be corporate positions moved from regional sites.

While individual wages for the 200 jobs will vary by job function, the overall average for the new jobs will be $52,500 a year, not including benefits. The Mecklenburg County average annual wage is $51,584.

“At a time when unemployment remains at historic levels, Compass Group is pleased to be able to bring 200 jobs to the state and to Charlotte and Mecklenburg County," says Compass CEO Gary Green. "We’re proud to receive this investment from Governor Perdue’s JobsNOW program."

Part of the investment will come from a Job Development Investment Grant. 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 55 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs for each of the eight years in which the company meets annual performance targets. If Compass Group USA meets the targets called for under the agreement, the JDIG could yield up to $1.7 million in benefits for the company.

Compass, a unit of the British based Compass Group PLC firm, operates numerous high-profile management company brands in the U.S., including Chartwells, Eurest, Bon Appetit, Morrison and Restaurant Associates. It currently employes about a thousand associates at the headquarters site.