Nike Inc announced it will open a new manufacturing facility in Goodyear, Arizona, with a likely investment of around $184 million. The company have decided to go ahead with the site, after the state of Arizona last week withdrew an incentive package following the footwear maker’s cancellation of a controversial sneaker.
Nike, which said the expansion is expected to generate more than 500 full-time jobs, made no mention of the $1m incentive loss in its statement on the new facility.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, last week withdrew the incentive for Nike to build the plant after the world’s largest sportswear maker cancelled the release of a sneaker featuring a colonial-era version of the American flag, with links to slavery.
Nike last week said it cancelled the sneaker because it was concerned that it “could unintentionally offend and detract from the nation’s patriotic holiday.” Arizona officials said financial incentives previously withdrawn have not been reinstated.
Nike said that building renovations will begin later this summer and the production of Nike Air soles is expected to start in early 2020.
