North Carolina is once again facing backlash for its anti-LGBT bathroom law, which requires people to use the bathroom indicated on their birth certificates. The state will now lose another 730 jobs and a quarter of a million dollars.
The real estate analytics company CoStar Group Inc. was shopping for a city to construct a new headquarters for research operations. Charlotte was one of the cities competing for the slot, and was reportedly the favorite. Ultimately, CoStar chose Richmond, Virginia.
David Dorsch, CoStar’s commercial real estate broker, said, “The primary reason they chose Richmond over Charlotte was HB2.”
Officially, the company has not commented on the matter, but simply stated that the jobs were going to Richmond. No plans for any further expansions have been announced. Dorsch, however, was adamant that the job loss was yet another casualty of the state’s HB2 law.
The loss of jobs is one of the biggest for North Carolina, but not the first. Since passing the controversial law, businesses, sports championships and entertainers have pulled out of the state. PayPal halted its expansion in Charlotte, which would have added 400 new jobs. Deutsche Bank stopped an expansion in Cary that would have added 250 jobs. Both companies have said publicly that they refused to go through with their expansions because of the discriminatory law.
North Carolina has also lost NCAA Championships, the NBA All-Star Game, and the ACC championships.
But Governor McCrory denies any negative impact from the state’s law. John Skvarla, Commerce Secretary, insisted that HB2 has had no impact whatsoever on the state’s economy or jobs. Skvarla says North Carolina is in the “best position” ever.
Johnny Harris, a Charlotte-based real estate investor, believes that for each company that relocates to the state, “another 10 probably are not, deterred by HB2.”
McCrory is up for re-election this year, and is down six points in recent polls. Despite this, the governor continues to defend the law and insists it has not caused problems for the state.
