Google recently announced plans to open a brand new server facility in North Carolina, a move expected to inject new life into the local and regional economy. The company’s negotiating tactics, however, are now coming under scrutiny as state documents from the proceedings are now becoming available.
Information stemming from these documents portrays Google’s strong desire for secrecy, and its aggressive posture by demanding tax incentives in return for establishing a facility within Caldwell County.
Reports suggest that Google threatened to completely end negotiations if legislative officials did not draft a bill with verbiage acceptable to the search engine giant.
The company also was adamant that state officials never invoke the company’s name, a proviso that was brought to a screeching halt when news of Google’s plans to open a facility in Lenior were leaked earlier this year.
“I sort of had to work in the dark,” Sen. Jim Jacumin, a Republican who represents Caldwell County, tells the News Observer. “That bothered me. They need to respect the laws of the land, even if they’re business.”
The News Observer also documents an e-mail conversation between Google Executive Rhett Weiss and North Carolina Commerce Secretary Jim Fain, a dialogue in which Google referred to the state’s legislative process as “cursed with unfortunate and petty dickering from the legislative drafting side” and threatening to call off the entire deal should legislation satisfactory to Google fail to be passed.
Google clearly had the leverage in these talks, knowing full well that the local economy in Caldwell County had been ravaged as most of the region’s textile-based work opportunities have been shipped overseas where labor is cheap. Lenior needed the jobs, and Google supplied them, albeit for a hefty price.
I suppose the mantra of “Do No Evil” doesn’t apply to strong-arm tactics in conducting business negotiations.
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Joe is a staff writer for murdok. Visit murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
