Hundreds of high-paying jobs coming to Charlotte as financial services firm expands

EY said Tuesday that it plans to add 375 new jobs in Charlotte over the next five years as part of a major expansion and a new innovation center the financial services and accounting firm is undertaking.

The company (formerly known as Ernst & Young) will open a new “EY wavespace” location in Charlotte, part of an initiative focused on emerging technologies such as robotics, blockchain (think “bitcoin”) and artificial intelligence.

North Carolina is providing a $3.2 million tax incentive grant, spread over 12 years, to help offset EY’s costs. The company said the expansion investment will total about $8.2 million.

“We are seeing new and diverse skills bringing creative ideas and innovation to business leaders across the State,” said Malcomb Coley, leader of Charlotte’s EY office. “It’s our hope that EY wavespace will build on this momentum, providing a physical location where innovative talents come together to collaborate and navigate this transformative age.”

In the U.S., there are currently EY wavespace locations in New York, San Francisco and Seattle. The N.C. Department of Commerce said EY’s expansion will be located both in its current offices at the Bank of America Center uptown and the RailYard development in South End, a pair of eight-story office towers under construction by Beacon Partners. The RailYard is targeting a Jan. 2019 opening, and a Beacon spokeswoman said EY hasn’t officially signed a lease yet.

EY said the jobs will pay an average of $74,926 per year, above the Mecklenburg County average of about $65,000.

The jobs will include a wide range of areas, such as forensic investigations, data analysts, robotics specialists and digital development positions.

“The EY wavespace innovation center in Charlotte will create even more opportunities for North Carolinians to develop new ideas and creative solutions,” said N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper, in a statement.

This story was originally published February 27, 2018 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Hundreds of high-paying jobs coming to Charlotte as financial services firm expands."