A defense contractor with plans to build a military drone plant in Pickaway County, about 20 minutes south of downtown Columbus, is set to benefit from a state tax credit for the next 30 years.
The Ohio Department of Development’s Tax Credit Authority greenlit a 2.594% refundable Job Creation Tax Credit (JCTC) on Monday for Anduril Industries, with terms that begin in 2026 and end in 2055.
The technology startup went public with its Ohio project less than two weeks earlier, with promises to create more than 4,000 jobs in the next decade and add $2 billion per year to the state’s economy.
Dubbed “Arsenal-1,” its eventual 5-million-square-foot weapons and weapons systems manufacturing facility will build advanced military technology driven by Anduril’s centralized artificial intelligence software.
The refundable JCTC is a part of why the relatively young California-based startup is putting down roots in Ohio, JobsOhio Project Manager Grant Whipple said Monday to members of the board. Other states in consideration were in the south and southwest, Whipple said.
“Each of these states offer strategic proposals and significant incentives packages, including multiple states offering potentially free land,” he said.
Anduril could see more than $452.3 million in incentives from this credit alone through 2055, according to Gov. Mike DeWine’s office. That is only if Anduril fulfills its job creation and payroll promises, DeWine and former Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said at Anduril’s announcement event earlier in January.
“Anytime we do a deal, it’s contingent upon the company delivering what they promise, and we have not been afraid in any circumstance, including with General Motors, to go claw back any incentives they don’t deliver on,” Husted said then.
Wages at the plant will average $63.61 per hour, Whipple said.
Though Intel committed to creating fewer direct jobs and lower payroll, it received a 30-year 3.99% rate through the program in 2022.
For its $1 billion investment, Anduril is still seeking $70 million in grant funding from the state’s All Ohio Future Fund, and JobsOhio will assist Anduril, too. The powerful private firm pursues projects like these on the state’s behalf.
