Advance Auto misses hiring goals at Raleigh HQ, cites remote work

Advance Auto Parts, one of Raleigh's largest corporate headquarters, is backing out of an incentive agreement with the state over concerns it won't meet hiring goals.

Driving the news: In a letter sent to the state in June and obtained by Axios Raleigh, Advance said that it will not be able to add the 435 jobs it promised when it agreed to relocate its headquarters from Virginia in 2018.

• Those jobs — which the company said expected to pay an average annual wage of $106,000 — would've been in addition to 700 existing employees in the city.
• The company also promised to invest $5.4 million as part of the 2018 agreement.

Why it matters: Like many companies during the pandemic, Advance's local hiring has been impacted by an increase in remote work and competition for talent.

• Many new hires are working remotely and some existing employees have moved out of the state due to the company's increased flexibility, wrote Tammy Finley, general counsel for Advance.
• Competition for talent has also led Advance to hire more at its offices in India and Taiwan, Finley added.

Yes, but: Advance said it is still happy to have its headquarters in Raleigh. It is the city's only Fortune 500 HQ and much of its executive team relocated here, including CEO Tom Greco.

• It employs more than 700 workers at the Advance Auto Parts tower in North Hills. Though, it has moved to sublease some of its space there.

The incentive could have been worth more than $12 million to Advance, had it reached its hiring goals.

• State officials noted at Tuesday's Economic Investment Committee meeting — where the termination was approved — that Advance had already been paid $220,000.

What they're saying: "We remain committed to our headquarters in Raleigh, N.C. and the growth of our team locally," Advance spokesperson Darryl Carr said in a statement.