Annapolis, Md. – Today, Facebook announced a $1 billion investment to build a new data center in Virginia, which will create thousands of construction jobs and more than 100 full-time positions. Governor Hogan’s claim that Maryland is “open for business” makes a nice slogan, but under his leadership, companies have repeatedly chosen Virginia over our state.
“While Governor Hogan likes to say that Maryland is ‘open for business,’ he has repeatedly failed to win the competition for new businesses and jobs ,” said Maryland Democratic Party chair Kathleen Matthews. “Under his leadership, jobs and wage growth in Maryland has consistently lagged behind Virginia, and the average worker in Maryland is making less money in real dollars today than they were before Hogan was elected. Maryland deserves a Governor who will invest in our greatest asset—our workers—so businesses will start investing in our state again.”
Facebook’s investment in Virginia joins a long list of missed opportunities and lost jobs for Marylanders. Just this year, Nestle and Boeing chose to invest in Virginia instead of Maryland. When President Trump cancelled a project to move the headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which would have brought thousands of high-paying jobs to Maryland, Governor Hogan sat by and did nothing.
Marylanders are feeling Governor Hogan’s failures in their wallets. Since Hogan took office, Maryland has lost hundreds of manufacturing jobs while Virginia has added more than 2,000 jobs in the sector. Additionally, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Maryland workers are earning 73 cents less per hour when adjusted for inflation, which is more than $700 in reduced wages compared to 2014. That number is in stark contrast to workers in Virginia who are earning more than $6,000 more annually in the same time period, and workers in Delaware who are earning more than $10,000 more annually.