This story is part of an ongoing series, Powering Change: Panasonic and De Soto. If you'd like to share your excitement or concerns about the electric vehicle battery plant, you can do so here.
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Panasonic can start making money since it's open for production.
The company has already been eligible for billions of dollars in incentives from every level of government.
What's important to know are the commitments and legal consequences for not fulfilling them.
Here's a rundown of taxpayer funds Panasonic could get:
- $800 million in state incentives
- $229 million in local incentives (De Soto)
- $6.8 billion in federal incentives through the Inflation Reduction Act
These incentives don't come without strings attached.
Gov. Laura Kelly spoke one-on-one with KSHB 41's Alyssa Jackson in February about the state's APEX agreement.
"We very carefully crafted our contract and negotiations with Panasonic so that, unlike some other very large projects where the money was up fronted, we don't do that," Kelly said. "Panasonic has got to produce before any of that money goes out."
Panasonic gets reimbursed after meeting thresholds for hiring and making capital investments.
The company confirmed during the grand opening it has hired 1,100 employees so far.
The state of Kansas requires the company to create 4,000 jobs. However, it doesn't have to hire all at once.
If Panasonic doesn't meet its contractual responsibilities, it has to pay back all or some of the incentives.
The city of De Soto signed a 20-year agreement with the company. Its hiring threshold is lower, at 2,500 jobs.
Additionally, the city's development agreement doesn't come with aggressive clawbacks.
"What we're forgoing over the 20 years is roughly $40 million in property tax, and at the end of the project, initial construction, we're going to have $248 million worth of infrastructure," De Soto Mayor Rick Walker said in January.
De Soto's agreement does not mention repaying any of the incentives if Panasonic falls short.
Instead, the company would forfeit any project reimbursements and future tax increment financing (TIF) if it's out of compliance. The agreement triggers those clauses if Panasonic misses the mark for two years straight starting in 2026.
The facility is finally open as of Monday.
However, with thousands of jobs still contractually needed and some production lines still in progress, Panasonic still has a lot to show.
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KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including Overland Park, Prairie Village and Leawood. Share your story idea with Alyssa.