• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent

2

Social Security unraveling: 7,100 workers sacked, performance metrics retired, disability claims falling

3

'Where we are today is frightening': a Pulitzer-winning historian sees a doomsday scenario involving China and the national debt

1

Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent

2

Social Security unraveling: 7,100 workers sacked, performance metrics retired, disability claims falling

3

'Where we are today is frightening': a Pulitzer-winning historian sees a doomsday scenario involving China and the national debt
Leadership

Gary, Indiana—in Deal with U.S. Steel—May Learn the Hard Way How Tax Breaks Can Backfire

By
Erik Sherman
Erik Sherman
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Erik Sherman
Erik Sherman
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 8, 2019, 9:50 AM ET

Subsidies have become a way of life for cities and states that want to woo corporations and expected jobs. And Gary, Ind., along with the state, offered a $47 million incentive package in August 2018 to U.S. Steel, according to U.S. News and World Report.

The hope was that the $750 million the company would invest in modernizing a 112-year-old steel plant would preserve nearly 3,900 steelworker jobs. President Donald Trump’s steel tariffs made the move economically viable.

But as the incentive deal continues to be negotiated, it turns out that jobs may be lost and not kept, as Reuters reports.

U.S. Steel vice president Douglas Matthews told Reuters that “decreasing headcount over time” was more likely.

This makes the city of Gary—initially founded in 1906 by U.S. Steel and named for company co-founder Elbert Henry Gary—is the latest to discover that tax subsidies have left a lengthy trail of unmet promises.

The Kauffman Foundation has found that incentives only tend to shift jobs between states, not create new ones, as CBS News reported.

University of Texas at Austin professor Nathan Jensen and PhD student Calvin Thrall, writing in The Conversation, discovered that announced deals frequently get renegotiated privately, cutting back on the jobs promises.

Boston, for instance, offered General Electric $25 million in tax breaks to relocate its corporate headquarters from Connecticut. But after the deal announcement, GE cut jobs in its Boston temporary office, though the troubled conglomerate is still promising to create 800 new jobs in the city by its 2024 deadline.

As Jensen separately wrote in the New York Times, incentives often take tax revenues away from other local needs like education. A report from the site Good Jobs First, which tracks subsidies and incentives to corporations, found that public schools across the country lost $1.8 billion in 2017 when funds were redirected to corporate subsidies.

Or there’s the example of the incentives offered to Amazon to open a major campus in New York City. Initially, some of the enticements were tax breaks for developing poor areas. Amazon said in late January that it would now decline those breaks.

Often, winning an incentive bid for business can mean losing.

About the Author
By Erik Sherman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

Women run a record 11.2% of Fortune 500 companies in 2026—but the gain came in a year of high-profile exits
MPWFortune 500
Women run a record 11.2% of Fortune 500 companies in 2026—but the gain came in a year of high-profile exits
By Sydney LakeJune 3, 2026
1 hour ago
Bigger, richer, more concentrated: Inside the new Fortune 500
NewslettersCEO Daily
Bigger, richer, more concentrated: Inside the new Fortune 500
By Diane BradyJune 3, 2026
2 hours ago
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
Magazine250 Years of Innovation
Intel’s new CEO cut management layers in half. The stock is up nearly 500%
By Jeff John RobertsJune 3, 2026
5 hours ago
Microsoft seeks to be AI’s center of gravity again. CEO Satya Nadella is in San Francisco to make the case
AIMicrosoft
Microsoft seeks to be AI’s center of gravity again. CEO Satya Nadella is in San Francisco to make the case
By Sebastian HerreraJune 2, 2026
13 hours ago
Dan Peyovich
Future of WorkCOO Summit
Data center CEO is hoping for a skilled-trades revival in his lifetime—he’s recruiting couch-dwelling Gen Z with two weeks of vacation on day one
By Preston ForeJune 2, 2026
15 hours ago
coo
ConferencesCOO Summit
The $18 expense report and the defunded intern programs: symbols of corporate America’s dysfunction
By Nick LichtenbergJune 2, 2026
15 hours ago

Most Popular

Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent
Environment
Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 1, 2026
2 days ago
Social Security unraveling: 7,100 workers sacked, performance metrics retired, disability claims falling
North America
Social Security unraveling: 7,100 workers sacked, performance metrics retired, disability claims falling
By Katie Savin, Callie Freitag, Matthew Borus and The ConversationJune 2, 2026
22 hours ago
'Where we are today is frightening': a Pulitzer-winning historian sees a doomsday scenario involving China and the national debt
Banking
'Where we are today is frightening': a Pulitzer-winning historian sees a doomsday scenario involving China and the national debt
By Nick LichtenbergJune 2, 2026
1 day ago
The Iran conflict has disrupted oil supply. Gulf states are now looking to multi-billion-dollar investments in renewables 
Energy
The Iran conflict has disrupted oil supply. Gulf states are now looking to multi-billion-dollar investments in renewables 
By Melissa HancockJune 1, 2026
2 days ago
Cognizant CEO is swimming against the tide on AI: he's hiring over 20,000 graduates this year and says AI tokenmaxxing is a 'vanity metric'
Conferences
Cognizant CEO is swimming against the tide on AI: he's hiring over 20,000 graduates this year and says AI tokenmaxxing is a 'vanity metric'
By Preston ForeJune 1, 2026
2 days ago
Trump tells Netanyahu, 'You're f—ing crazy' and Wall Street sees it as a sign he’s losing patience with the war and wants it done
Investing
Trump tells Netanyahu, 'You're f—ing crazy' and Wall Street sees it as a sign he’s losing patience with the war and wants it done
By Jim EdwardsJune 2, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.