Following the recent announcement that Chiquita is to leave its headquarters in Charlotte for pastures new in Florida, the North Carolina city's economic development director has called on the fresh produce giant to pay back incentive money that it owes.
After three years in Charlotte, Chiquita said that it was moving its main US headquarters to Fort Lauderdale, just north of Miami, while its fresh convenience division Fresh Express will be moved to a location close to Orlando.
However, Charlotte's Bill Cronin has said that Chiquita's decision to move means that it has effectively broken an agreement to keep the company in the city, meaning the multinational owes Charlotte around US$1m in incentive money that should be returned.
'I invoiced them in April or so,' Cronin told the Charlotte Business Journal.