Centennial Campus will soon lose one of the world’s most successful companies over the last decade.
Red Hat, known as the world’s leading provider of open source technology solutions, announced last week they will move their headquarters from their current location on Varsity Drive to the Progress Energy Building in downtown Raleigh.
The company will occupy part of the space that is expected to be created with the merger of Progress Energy and Charlotte-based Duke Energy.
Red Hat officials could not be reached for comment on the decision to move.
Founded in 1993, Red Hat employs over 2,500 people in 58 countries. It has been publicly held since 1999. The company moved from Durham to its current location in 2002.
This move comes amid plans for expansion that the company announced in January. Plans include investing $109 million in expanding the Wake County headquarters, adding 240 jobs over the next four years and adding 300 jobs in 2015, according to WRAL . This would result in an average annual salary of $80,000 to $83,000, which is almost double the average annual salary for Wake County: $42,700.
North Carolina officials said the total Red Hat expansion is estimated to have an economic impact of $1.5 billion, according to WRAL .
WRAL says there is currently no timeline for the move.
Progress Energy and Duke Energy filed for regulatory approval of the companies on April 4. The newly merged company is expected to relocate to Charlotte.
Eric Whitmire , a junior in computer science, said he thinks the Red Hat move will be a significant loss for Centennial Campus.
“Red Hat has helped give Centennial Campus its reputation as a place for corporations, initiatives and research communities to come together as a community,” Whitmire said. “They were one of the flagship companies of our campus and their relocation represents a significant loss. Hopefully Red Hat’s support will continue and [open source] initiatives will continue to thrive.”
Carol Burton graduated from N.C . State in 2010 with degrees in business management and accounting. She held the position of internal audit intern at Red Hat in 2008. She thinks the move will actually benefit students and the community.
“By moving to the Progress Energy building, Red Hat will have more space to hire more State graduates and provide more employment opportunities to the Raleigh community,” Burton said.
She also said that the move could create a new opportunity for the University.
“[The move] also provides another opportunity for the University to create a partnership with a different company that can learn how valuable State graduates can be to a company,” Burton said.
Whitmire said he does not think the relocation will have a negative effect on the ability of students to seek internships at the company.
“Since [Red Hat] is remaining within Raleigh, I can’t imagine that [the move] would dissuade too many applicants,” Whitmire said.
Burton said that while her decision to initially apply for an internship at Red Hat in 2008 was not greatly affected by the location of the company, it did play a role at the end of her internship.
“I started as a summer intern, but because of the convenience and proximity to campus, it was easy to continue working during the school year,” Burton said.
Burton also spoke to the quality of her internship with the company and the great opportunities it provides to students.
“My internship was not just a job, but an excellent learning experience,” Burton said. “Not every internship gives you the opportunity to sit down with the Chief Financial Officer in a one-on-one meeting, or the opportunity to meet with the Chief Executive Officer and ask any question we had,” Burton said.
