MAIDEN (AP) ó Furniture maker Ethan Allen Operations Inc. plans to expand in North Carolina, creating more than 300 jobs and investing almost $3 million over the next three years.
Gov. Beverly Perdue said Thursday that the company that makes upholstered furniture is leaving a leased facility in California and consolidating those operations in Maiden, where Ethan Allen now employs 540 people. The move will replace 143 jobs lost in previous layoffs and will add 159 new jobs for a total of 302.
The company received a $109,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund, which provides financial assistance to attract business projects and create new jobs.
Workers will earn an average annual wage of almost $40,000, higher than the Catawba County average wage of just over $34,000.