Corning will invest $585 million in its Wilmington fiber plant and add 414 jobs averaging over $85,000, backed by up to $5 million in city and county grants.
Corning Inc. will invest $585 million in its Wilmington optical fiber plant and add 414 jobs. The company is the business behind Project Pearl II, the code name used when the city and county voted on incentives this week.
The expansion grows Corning’s local workforce of about 1,000 by roughly 40%. The new jobs are expected to pay more than $85,000 a year on average.
Corning announced the expansion Wednesday in a release published by Wilmington Business Development, the nonprofit that recruits employers to the city and county.
“We’re proud to expand our presence in Wilmington, where Corning made history with the world’s first optical fiber manufacturing plant and where our people continue to make the fiber that is critical to next-generation networks,” said John McGirr, senior vice president and general manager of Corning Optical Fiber and Cable.
What Corning says the expansion brings
According to the release:
- 414 new jobs, added over the next five years
- average salaries above $85,000 a year
- more than $35 million a year in added payroll once hiring is complete
- fiber for next-generation networks and the long-term customer agreements Corning has announced
The release says demand from AI network operators and telecommunications networks is driving growth in Corning’s optical communications business. Wilmington competed with “numerous other locations” for the project, it says.
The incentives behind it
The deal carries up to $5 million in local money, paid only if Corning hits its targets.
- New Hanover County: commissioners unanimously approved a $3 million performance-based incentive at a public hearing Monday, according to the county’s meeting recap.
- City of Wilmington: City Council approved up to $2 million Tuesday, the release says. The city’s resolution pays up to $400,000 a year for five years.
The city’s resolution requires the 414 full-time jobs to pay at least $85,080 on average. It also requires the full $585 million of investment by 2031. Each year’s payment shrinks if a target is missed, and the city can claw money back if the company moves or closes too soon. By our calculation, the local money works out to about $12,077 for each promised job.
Most of the hiring comes later in the period. The schedule in the city’s Exhibit A calls for:
| Year | New jobs |
|---|---|
| 2027 | 16 |
| 2028 | 55 |
| 2029 | 193 |
| 2030 | 150 |
| Total | 414 |
Our earlier story on Project Pearl II has the full year-by-year investment targets and the conditions.
How the pay compares
New Hanover County’s overall average wage is about $70,000 a year, the release says, citing the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The city’s minimum average for the new jobs is $85,080.
Sixty years in Wilmington
Corning opened its first Wilmington plant in 1966, according to the release. The site first made electric resistors for televisions, stereo equipment and home appliances. After Corning engineers invented low-loss optical fiber in 1970, the Wilmington operation became the world’s first fiber optic manufacturing plant.
The county’s and the city’s leaders were both quoted in the release.
“The grant is tied to those jobs and that investment, and that is exactly how it should work,” said LeAnn Pierce, chair of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners.
“By linking incentives to job creation and capital investment, we’re supporting opportunities that will benefit Wilmington for years to come,” Mayor Bill Saffo said.
What it means for you
- If you want one of the jobs: the hiring is spread out, with 16 jobs due in 2027 and most in 2029 and 2030. The release does not say how to apply or which roles come first. Corning works with Cape Fear Community College on the Corning Technician Pipeline Program, a two-year apprenticeship whose first class graduated in May 2023.
- If you pay property tax: the city and county grants come from their general funds. City staff estimated the project’s new property tax would cover the city’s share within about five years. Our property taxes page explains how city and county bills work.
- If you follow the local job market: our latest Wilmington unemployment story has the August figures.
We will report Corning’s hiring plans when the company publishes them.
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