LED maker Cree plans to announce a new jobs initiative Thursday.
The company said today that CEO Chuck Swoboda and Gov. Beverly Perdue intend to jointly announce "new green jobs" at a press conference at Cree's headquarters in Durham on Thursday afternoon.
Cree spokeswoman Michelle Murray declined to fill in the blanks.
But Swoboda may have foreshadowed the upcoming announcement in August, when the company reported its earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter that ended June 28. Swoboda disclosed then that Cree was increasing capacity at its plants in Durham and China and hiring additional workers in response to strong demand, but said the company hadn't yet set hiring targets.
Cree has about 3,500 full-time workers, including 1,500 in Durham.
The company hasn't been buffeted by the recession. Revenue for the latest quarter was $148.1 million, up 9 percent from a year ago, and the company projected that revenue in the current quarter would range from $160 million to $166 million.
When Cree announced a $300 million expansion and the creation of 300 new jobs at its Durham plant in 2004, the state promised it up to $5.1 million in incentives.
David Ranii has been a business reporter at The News & Observer since 1993. Over the years he has covered information technology, banking, insurance, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, media businesses and real estate. Contact him at 919-829-4877 or