How Greencore's Closing At Quonset Impacts Rhode Islanders

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI— Thursday was not a great day for the Irish. Sandwich maker Greencore, which is based in Dublin, announced it will close its Quonset plant at the end of this month, Matt Sheaff, of the state Commerce Corporation said. The decision is part of a global restructuring, he said. The Rhode Island operation was not performing well.

"Last fall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted an environmental sampling at the facility and found traces of listeria bacteria which led to a voluntary recall of sandwiches and other food products," Sheaff said.

The closing means 218 employees, mostly from Central Falls, Pawtucket and Providence, are losing their jobs.

"The Department of Labor and Training will actively help Greencore workers affected by the layoffs," Sheaff said. "At the company’s invitation, DLT will visit the workplace soon and offer Rapid Response services. Through Rapid Response, DLT can provide information about re-employment services and possible training opportunities, address workers’ individual needs, and offer information about income support programs such as Unemployment Insurance.”

But the taxpayers will not be on the hook for costly incentives, according to Sheaff.

Greencore's decision to open a Quonset plant was announced while Gov. Lincoln Chafee was in office. Neither the state nor the Commerce Corporation offered Greencore any money to open an operation in Rhode Island, Sheaff said. The Quonset Development Corporation did provide the standard incentives but the credits amounted to a discount, not a handout, the QDC said.

"We didn't give them anything," said David E. Preston, Quonset's spokesman. Greencore received discounts for taking a 50-year lease on the property and for putting workers on the payroll. The lease is worth $135,000 a year. The incentives in 2017 brought the price down to about half. So, the incentives meant "we charged them less," he said.

Net

Wage

Net Lease

Year

Base Rent

Credit

Lease

Discount

Payments

2015

$121,204.00

($30,301.00)

$90,903.00

$90,903.00

2016

$126,459.33

($31,614.83)

$94,844.50

$94,844.50

2017

$131,715.00

($32,928.75)

$98,786.25

($27,586.63)

$71,199.62

"These figures reflect the two incentives available to every Quonset tenant company that signs a new lease, regardless of size or number of jobs," he said. "The incentives are:

1) A discount of 0.5% to a land lease tenant based on their annual wages, as reported to the Division of Taxation on the Quarterly Tax and Wage Report, and;

2) A discount on a sliding scale depending on the length of the lease, in this case, a 50-year lease.

Again, there were no state incentives in this deal – only the standard Quonset incentives available to all."

Preston said Quonset gives the incentives because the QDC benefits from a long-term lease, and the lease is still in effect, even though the plant is closing. Greencore could sublease the property, he said. He didn't want to comment on what would happen if the company declares bankruptcy.

"There's going to be a negotiation," he said.