news-record.com

CHARLOTTE (AP) — Swedish appliance maker Electrolux will move its North American headquarters from Georgia and consolidate hundreds of white-collar jobs in North Carolina's largest city, the company and Gov. Beverly Perdue said Wednesday.

The move would bring about 740 jobs to Charlotte. In return, the company could receive tax breaks and direct grants worth up to $26 million from the state, and could receive more from local governments.

Electrolux is best known for making vacuum cleaners, washers and dryers, and kitchen appliances for home and commercial uses. It employs about 650 at a dishwasher manufacturing plant in Kinston, 180 miles east of Charlotte, and at a sales office in suburban Huntersville.

The new headquarters will consolidate seven U.S. offices in Huntersville, an international sales office in Pittsburgh; the holding company office in Cleveland, Ohio; financial support offices in Columbus, Ohio, and Springfield, Tenn.; and a design center in Anderson, S.C., the company said.

The consolidation does not effect manufacturing plants in Anderson; Springfield, Tenn.; and St. Cloud, Minn., spokesman Tony Evans said. A plant in Webster City, Iowa, will be closed in early 2011 as part of a previously announced decision.

Electrolux employs about 315 people in its North American headquarters in Augusta, Ga., Evans said. A customer service call center with 100 full-time workers will stay in Augusta, he said.

Kevin Scott, chief executive officer of Electrolux Major Appliances North America, cited Charlotte's position as a transportation hub as a key element to selecting the city.

"Charlotte is also a center for business, finance and technology, and the educational and housing resources in the area are outstanding, as are the cultural, recreational and sports activities," Scott said in a prepared statement.

Stockholm-based parent company Electrolux AB said in October it increased profits by 93 percent in the third quarter after raising prices on its products and slashing costs.

The company employs 8,000 in the U.S. out of a worldwide work force of 55,000, Evans said.