Hatteras Yachts, a division of Brunswick Corp., plans to add 350 jobs during the next five years at its manufacturing facility in New Bern.

State officials this afternoon approved giving the company incentives worth up to $3 million if it meets hiring goals and keeps 279 existing jobs at the Craven County site.

The new jobs will pay average annual salaries of $31,425. The Craven County average is $29,848.
 
The company also stands to get $900,000 of incentives from Craven County.

The expansion comes at the expense of Hatteras' facility in California, where it makes Cabo yachts. That plant is being closed and the work will transfer to New Bern.

The company began building boats on the North Carolina coast about 50 years ago. Hatteras once employed 1,400 people in New Bern, but has struggled during the recession, which hurt many boatmakers.