25 leading job-creating projects: Established giants and enterprising newcomers promise big things for North Carolina.

• Author: Bivins, Lawrence
• Position: NC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

A record run of corporate relocations and expansions has kept the dirt flying across North Carolina.

This year's rankings of major new-job announcements over the past year include powerhouses such as Amazon, Eli Lilly and Toyota Motor. But the list also features lesser-known names such as Boom Supersonic, VinFast and Jaguar Gene Therapy, each promising big operations based on revolutionary new technology.

Meanwhile, the state continues to rack up gains in traditional industries including beverages, building products and distribution.

Several international entrants expect to make a major mark, led by Vietnam's VinFast; Japan's Toyota Motor; and Austria's Red Bull. But some home-grown firms also show up, including Victra, Glen Raven and MegaCorp.

Cabarrus County, which is northeast of Charlotte, had a particularly notable year with large projects unveiled by five companies.

One note of caution: Not all projects pan out as expected. As economic and business conditions change, companies revise strategies both up and down.

These are the top 25 economic development projects, ranked by promises of job creation, announced from June 2021 through May 2022.

1. VINFAST

   Hanoi, Vietnam

   * NEW JOBS: 7,500

   * COUNTY: Chatham

   * PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $4 billion

   * NC CASH INCENTIVES: $316.1 million over 32 years

   North Carolina's decades-long quest for an automobile assembly plant came to fruition with a March announcement by VinFast, part of the Vingroup conglomerate founded by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong. The company, which delivered its first electric vehicles in Vietnam in December, says it will start assembling vehicles in Chatham County's Moncure community in July 2024. Total state and local investment, including roads and utilities around the plant, could top $850 million if VinFast meets its targets for jobs and investment. The 2,150-acre Triangle Innovation Point was among 29 sites in 29 states that VinFast officials considered before narrowing their search to Moncure and Savannah, Georgia. Founded in 2017, the company intends to make electric SUV models expected to trade for more than $40,000.

2. MACY'S

   New York, New York

   * NEW JOBS: 2,800

   * COUNTY: Rowan

   * PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $584 million

   * NC CASH INCENTIVES: $2.3 million over 12 years

   By mid-2024, China Grove is expected to be the home of a 1.4 million-square-foot fulfillment center that will serve customers of the storied American retailer. The site is slated to account for 30% of Macy's digital supply-chain capacity. Online sales make up about a third of sales at the company, which operates about 725 stores. New Jersey-based Silverman Group is collaborating with real estate advisory firm Avison Young in developing the property at the 85 North Logistics Center. Macy's executives cited the region's strong labor market and highway network as the factors leading them to Rowan County.

3. (TIE) TOYOTA MOTOR

   Aichi, Japan

   * NEW JOBS: 1,750

   * COUNTY: Randolph

   * PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $1.2 billion

   * NC CASH INCENTIVES: $79.1 million over 20 years for first phase

   Toyota's first North American battery plant will support the company's 10 U.S. automotive assembly sites, while providing a high-profile jolt to the Triad's reputation as a manufacturing center. Expected to begin operating in 2025, the site will initially feature four production lines, with two more anticipated later. Average salaries are likely to top $62,000. Each line will deliver enough lithium-ion batteries to power 200,000 vehicles. Access to renewable energy was among the factors leading the Japanese automaker to the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite. Electric and hybrid vehicles currently comprise 25% of Toyota's sales, a number the company hopes to increase to 70% by 2030.

3. (TIE) BOOM SUPERSONIC

   Denver, Colorado

   * NEW JOBS: 1,750

   * COUNTY: Guilford

   * PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $500 million

   * NC CASH INCENTIVES: $87.2 million over 20 years

   Gov. Roy Cooper described the company's choice of Piedmont Triad International Airport for a manufacturing site "both poetic and logical" given North Carolina's history as the birthplace of flight. The company aims to shake up the commercial aviation industry with its Overture jet expected to fly at twice the speed of sound while burning sustainable aviation fuels. The company's factory will span 400,000 square feet and be LEED-certified. Boom says it plans to begin production in 2024, with test flights by 2026.

5. AMAZON

   Bellevue, Washington

   * NEW JOBS: 850

   * COUNTIES: Alamance, Cumberland, Johnston and Pender

   * PROJECTED INVESTMENT: $200 million

   * NC CASH INCENTIVES: 0

   E-commerce giant Amazon employs 27,000 North Carolina workers and has invested $5 billion at more than 25 Tar Heel operations. It's quickly become among the state's biggest employers over the past few...