Wednesday was a big auto day for North Carolina, with two events from two very different car companies. Toyota marked the opening of its promised $13.9 billion battery plant. Later in Charlotte, revived Scout Motors announced it would open a 1,200-worker HQ: www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

Between established Toyota and revived Scout Motors, the Tar Heel State celebrated major car developments this week.

Toyota began producing hybrid car batteries months ago at its new Liberty, NC plant, but on Wednesday, the company invited workers and government officials to celebrate the launch of its promised 5,000-worker-plus Piedmont facility. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

North Carolina is central to a great U.S. obesity drug race. Competition between Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk has affected 1000s of jobs between Charlotte and Raleigh. I visited the companies’ Triangle sites to learn how their drugs are made — and who's winning. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

IBM confirms it will move most Red Hat back-office staff (finance, legal, HR, accounting, and some supporting IT) into the parent company early next year. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

A new drive to unionize four Amazon facilities in Durham begins after labor advocates lost an election earlier this year near Raleigh. “We didn’t lose, we learned,” one union leader said. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

Vulcan Elements enters $1.4 billion partnership to pay for its first major commercial facility and challenge Chinese industry dominance.

One of my favorite stories. Happy Halloween! 📚👻 www.citizen-times.com/story/news/l...

While Amazon commits to create 500+ jobs at a future data center in Richmond County, the company's incentive agreement with the local government allows Amazon to only hire 50 full-time workers there to receive its property tax breaks: www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

How fast has Nvidia reached an unprecedented $5 trillion valuation? These are all stories I’ve written in the past 2.5 years:

“Everybody’s here.” Original Queer Eye cast member/TV personality Carson Kressley gave me an interview yesterday at High Point, NC’s famed biannual furniture market.

Many foresee a dire future for entry-level white-collar work.

JD Vance officiated at his wedding. Now, Kyle Walsh is the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences after atypical hiring process. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

Duke University professor, JD Vance friend named director of NIH’s RTP office. Staff and former directors say Kyle Walsh's appointment as NIEHS director bypassed standard nationwide search process.(Via @skyoutbriout.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/news/busines... #ncpol

In an N&O interview, the developer behind the New Hill Digital Campus near Apex defended his data center project against residents' noise, energy, environmental concerns. The fight unfolding in Wake County is one more common as U.S. data center demand surges. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

If you pass an internet cafe with black out windows in Raleigh or Durham, there's a good chance it's an electronic gaming hall. Their operations violate NC law, from slot machines to sweepstakes terminals. I played them, lost and won, and wrote about it: www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

Thief ignored cash in register and took only Pokémon cards at Raleigh’s Hidden Block Games, one of three local stores to have Pokémon cards targeted in recent overnight break-ins. The largest U.S. printer of Pokémon cards also happens to be in the Triangle: amp.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

Under federal law, employers must give workers 60 days' warning before certain mass layoffs. But as contractors, Amazon delivery drivers can fall into a loophole where they get much less warning — including no warning at all. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

Saw my first severed leg and learned how a Triangle transplant maker custom 3D prints ankles, knees, hips and shoulders: www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

Say goodbye to Wolfspeed, and say hello to Wolfspeed. Shares of the Durham, NC semiconductor supplier appeared to have ballooned 1,700% earlier this week, but the reality explains the new state of this newly non-bankrupt company. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

The town of Carrboro and Duke Energy met in a downtown Raleigh courtroom this week to debate whether the town can sue over Duke's approach to climate change: www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

Research Triangle Park is a few votes from its 50-year plan to remake the Triangle. This week, Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam said she supports an effort to bring housing and transportation to the park. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

Is the future of military drones being designed next to a Burt's Bees factory in Morrisville? www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

New: NC Gov. Josh Stein just launched a new advisory council about AI. More about what that means for taxpayers, jobs, and an AI reg reform bill coming next #ncga session. #ncpol www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...

Breaking: The sodium-ion battery startup Natron Energy will cease operating on Wednesday, Sept. 3. It was only last summer that Natron committed to build a $1.4 billion/1,000-worker manufacturing plant in North Carolina's Edgecombe County. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

The weekly Open Source business newsletter from @skyoutbriout.bsky.social is always an entertaining read. Particularly this week as he reports from Waffle House ahead of National Waffle Day. (And I learned NC is behind only Georgia and Florida in the number of Waffle Houses.)

Doctors at @uncchapelhill.bsky.social and @duke-university.bsky.social didn’t mince words this week about US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr’s decision to cancel millions in contracts and grants for vaccine research. @skyoutbriout.bsky.social has details.

Fun story from @skyoutbriout.bsky.social on Cooper, Stein and the disappearing necktie. I wonder how quickly ties would disappear from the #ncga if leadership relaxes the dress code for sessions www.newsobserver.com/news/local/a... #ncpol

This month, The News & Observer got an exclusive tour of Amazon's RDU1 fulfillment center in Garner. It is a massive warehouse, and what really stood out to me (especially as a journalist) was the prevalence of metrics at the facility. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

All of Duke Health's federal funding could be cut in Trump administration dispute over alleged race-based policies. The latest from @skyoutbriout.bsky.social.

The company behind NC’s biggest jobs headline of 2024 is in financial trouble. Sodium-ion battery startup Natron Energy is low on cash and struggling to get investors (as many battery startups currently are). What it means for its $1.4 billion NC project? amp.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

Funds cut, research ended, jobs lost: How Trump 2.0 has altered North Carolina's Research Triangle. Trump NIH funding cuts have caused layoffs and stalled Triangle research. (Via @skyoutbriout.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/news/busines... #ncpol #nced

NIH layoffs in RTP were made official Monday following last week's Supreme Court ruling. Impacted workers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences were notified via email Monday. It's the only NIH campus outside the D.C. area. www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...

Spoke with Duke University's Dr. Barton Haynes about the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development, which HHS canceled in May. Haynes now has 12 months to find $ to continue the 20-year project, which he said is close to piloting a prototype vaccine in humans. www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...

North Carolina reclaims top state for business in CNBC’s annual ranking. It's the 3rd time in 4 years that the state has topped CNBC's list. Beyond bragging rights, the CNBC rankings can sway potential new employers. (Via @skyoutbriout.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/news/busines... #ncpol

Last week, the EPA put 139 employees on leave "pending an investigation" for signing a letter criticizing agency administrator Lee Zeldin. Among those on leave are at least six EPA staff members at the agency's large campus in Research Triangle Park. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

The Durham semiconductor supplier Wolfspeed officially filed for bankrupcy today. The company looks to emerge from Chapter 11 by end of September after erasing 70% of its debt.

Just in: The Florida manufacturing firm Jabil will choose between sites in FL and Salisbury, NC for a new $264 million, 1,181-job AI/cloud hardware plant. On Monday, NC awarded Jabil incentives worth up to $11.2 million (plus there's job training and local $$) www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

How the Durham semiconductor supplier Wolfspeed went from an all-time high share price to Chapter 11 in less than four years. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

NC's Wolfspeed announced its bankruptcy plans this evening. The latest from @skyoutbriout.bsky.social on the company initially started by NC State students and known as lighting and LED maker Cree.

Which NC college did Greenville's MrBeast actually drop out of? Even his own lawyers don't have it correct. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

UNC, Duke researchers await NIH funding after judge halts Trump administration diversity cuts. Researchers could see their federal grants reinstated after a judge ruled they were illegally cut. (Via @skyoutbriout.bsky.social & Amber Hazzard) www.newsobserver.com/news/politic... #nced #ncpol

Exclusive: NC's secretive Gov Ops committee is seeking a slew of records from a UNC coronavirus researcher whose internationally known work has made him the focus of conspiracy theories and misinformation. Story from @koriedean.bsky.social, @dawnbvaughan.bsky.social and @skyoutbriout.bsky.social.

JetZero has selected the Greensboro for its first factory, an ambitious $4.7 billion project the California aviation startup says could one day employ 14,500 workers. If successful, it will be the biggest new workforce in recent North Carolina history. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

Wolfspeed continues what has been an aggressive year of cost cutting. The latest from @skyoutbriout.bsky.social.

Duke University to offer more buyouts, anticipates layoffs under funding threats. Duke will offer new faculty buyouts ahead of likely staff layoffs in response to multiple Trump administration federal funding threats. (Via @skyoutbriout.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/news/local/a... #nced #ncpol

As of May 20, UNC-Chapel Hill said it had received $38 million less in federal funding compared to the same point last year. Most of the difference is in terminated or delayed National Institutes of Health grant payments. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

RTI International will create an Employee Emergency Relief Fund for workers affected by the mass layoffs at the Durham-based non-profit, which has seen its headcount shrink 35% since President Trump retook office. The fund offers up to $10,000 per person. www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

*The Genentech biotechnology plant promises to create more than 400 jobs. Pharma manufacturing projects in booming Holly Springs are relatively good bets. See Amgen and Fujifilm. But more incentive-backed NC projects never reach the initial jobs goals they announce.

Hacker who promised to destroy stolen PowerSchool data now wants money from schools. PowerSchool said the data was destroyed when it paid a ransom. But now schools in the US & Canada are getting ransom demands about the stolen personal data. www.newsobserver.com/news/local/e... #nced #ncpol