Recent Economic Incentive Awards in the Aerospace & Headquarters Sectors

In this blog, Site Selection Group highlights some of the more notable projects announced during the first half of 2025 in two distinct industry sectors—aerospace and headquarters projects. During the first half of 2025, these two sectors accounted for 38 announced deals totaling approximately $1.7 billion of economic incentives supported by approximately $10.3 billion of capital investment and approximately 20,000 new jobs in the U.S.

Aerospace

The aerospace sector accounted for the following:

• Total Capital Investment: $10.1B
• Total Jobs Created: 18,000
• Total Incentives Awarded: $1.685 million

Of the $10 billion planned capital investments, 95% is derived from the three following projects:

• JetZero — Greensboro, North Carolina (Piedmont Triad International Airport) — JetZero, which designs and manufactures advanced blended wing body commercial aircraft, plans to invest $4.7 billion and create 14,560 jobs to establish a new commercial airplane manufacturing facility in Greensboro, North Carolina.
  
  North Carolina approved a $1.01 billion grant over a 37-year period through the North Carolina Job Development Investment Grant. The company has also been approved for $60 million from the Golden Leaf Foundation and $785 million of economic incentives from Guilford County and the City of Greensboro.
  
  
• Breeze Aviation Group — Cottonwood Heights, Utah — Breeze Aviation Group, a low-cost airline offering affordable, nonstop domestic flights via Breeze Airways, will invest approximately $4.5 billion to expand operations in Salt Lake County, Utah. In addition, the expansion will create approximately 570 jobs over the next 10 years.
  
  The primary incentive approved was a $11.45 million post-performance tax reduction, via the state’s Economic Development Tax Increment Financing program.
  
  
• Otto Aviation — Jacksonville, Florida (Cecil Airport) — Otto Aviation selected Florida’s Cecil Airport for its headquarters, manufacturing, and engineering hub. The project involves the development of the Phantom 3500, an evolutionary twin-engine business jet designed to deliver exceptional fuel efficiency, extended range, and reduced emissions. Otto Aviation will invest $430 million and bring approximately 1,200 high-quality aerospace jobs to Cecil Airport in Jacksonville, Florida.
  
  Otto Aviation has been approved for a $430 million grant through the Florida High Impact Performance Incentive Grant and Corporate Income Tax Credits. The company has also been approved for up to a $20 million Revenue Enhancement Value Grant from Jacksonville City and approximately $34.9 million from the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. 

Headquarters

The headquarters sector accounted for the following during the first half of 2025:

• Total Capital Investment: $125 million
• Total Jobs Created: 2,000
• Total Incentives Awarded: $24.5 million

Some of the more notable headquarters announcements were as follows:

• Daimler AG — Charlotte, North Carolina — Daimler Truck Financial Services USA announced a new headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, the second-largest banking center in the U.S. The headquarters will be in the Boyle Building at 13034 Ballantyne Corporate Place, with a capital investment of approximately $7.8 million and 276 jobs. This location will consolidate Daimler’s current Texas and Michigan operations.
  
  The state approved a $4.17 million North Carolina Job Development Investment Grant for a 12-year term.
  
  
• Vantive — Deerfield, Illinois — Vantive, following a separation from Baxter in early 2025, will establish its headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois, with a $23 million capital investment, 50 new jobs, and retention of 217 employees.
  
  Vantive has been awarded $7.24 million in tax credits through the Illinois Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Program.

• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries — Princeton, New Jersey — Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, which manufactures medicines, plans to invest $5.24 million to establish a new headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. The company will create 220 new jobs.
  
  The company was approved for $748,000 in tax credits through the New Jersey Emerge Program.

• Barrier Fencing Supply — Chadbourn, North Carolina — Barrier Fencing Supply, a wholesaler and distributor of fencing materials and products, plans to invest $15 million and create 151 new jobs to establish a new headquarters and manufacturing center in Columbus County, North Carolina.
  
  The state utilized the One North Carolina Fund to award Barrier Fencing Supply a $280,000 grant. Note that the One North Carolina Fund is mutually exclusive with the North Carolina Job Development Investment Grant.

• Italdesign — Bloomfield Hills, Michigan — Italdesign, which provides design, engineering, and production services for the transportation industry, including development, testing, and business model creation, plans to invest $20 million to establish its U.S. headquarters in Bloomfield, Michigan. The company will create 24 new jobs.
  
  The company was approved for a $200,000 Michigan Business Development Program grant.

Conclusion

At the time of this blog, there were approximately $7.3 billion of economic incentives awarded to projects locating in the U.S. during the first half of 2025. Since many of our recent blogs focus primarily on manufacturing and industrial, solar, and data center projects, we thought it would be interesting to focus on two distinct industry sectors, aerospace and headquarters projects, which accounted for approximately 23% of announced economic incentives in the first half of 2025.

Data Source: IncentivesFlow, a service from WAVTEQ Limited