Pepsi call center expanding in Winston-Salem

The food and beverage giant will invest about $7.5 million over the next three years in Winston-Salem, where it already employs about 900 people.

The average annual salary for the new jobs will be $36,077, plus benefits.

“The U.S. is the single biggest beverage market in the world, accounting for 25 percent of global beverage revenue” Darren Clark, director of government affairs for Pepsi Beverages parent PepsiCo, said in a statement. “A big piece of what enables this critical U.S. business to grow is exceptional service to our customers. We need top quality people and a strong business environment to deliver what PepsiCo calls Performance with Purpose, and North Carolina proves – once again – that it can help."

Pepsi qualified for a $400,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund, which provides financial assistance to attract business projects that will stimulate economic activity and create jobs in the state. Companies receive no money up front and must meet job creation and investment targets to obtain the funds.

Forsyth County commissioners and the Winston-Salem City Council also approved another $400,000 in incentives to entice the company to pick Winston-Salem for the project over sites in other states.

The Pepsi call center is one of seven across the country. The company said earlier this year it planned to consolidate them into four.

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Information from: Winston-Salem Journal