For a $2 million offer, Durham County hopes to get $8 million in new revenue and at least 75 jobs for county residents - and to keep 244 jobs in the United States.

The offer was extended last week to Cree Inc., manufacturer of LED lighting, as an incentive for the Durham company to make a new product line in its home county.

"What we're considering is essentially establishing a new manufacturing capability" for a new generation of LED chips, said Cree Vice President Greg Merritt. "We're looking at options for doing it in Durham and other locations."

Other locations, such as China - where Cree already has a factory - and Malaysia - where, according to Malaysian Industrial Development Authority, a semi-skilled production worker gets paid around $3,800 a year and a factory manager around $43,000. And both those countries, according to Deputy County Manager Carolyn P. Titus, are closer than Durham to the Asian factories where Cree chips are shipped to be inserted into cameras, video signs, telephones and other electronic gadgets.

"That's another factor Durham has to compete against," said Titus.

Thus the offer of $2 million to stay home - but with the condition that $825,000 of that total comes in the form of job-training costs for up to 75 Durham residents going to work at Cree's expanded plant.

"This is probably the most extensive [condition] we've done in terms of dollars we've tied to the training of Durham residents," said County Commissioner Ellen Reckhow.

The commissioners approved the incentive last week. Cree's expansion in Durham would represent an estimated $392 million capital investment and create a total of 244 full-time jobs and 86 contractor positions jobs by the end of 2013. Casey Steinbacher, CEO of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, said that would mean $8 million in new county revenue over the next 10 years.

Chamber board member Keith Burns said the incentive is a "unique opportunity" to keep manufacturing jobs in the United States.

"We're serious about hiring people in North Carolina," said Stephen Kelley, Cree's chief operating officer. Kelley said the company currently has 1,850 full-time employees at its three Durham sites and has hired 350 this year.

Merritt, the Cree vice president, said a decision date on location has not been determined.

"We're still waiting to receive all the incentive information from all the parties," he said. Merrit declined comment on other incentives the company is seeking.

Cree reported revenue of $867.3 million for fiscal 2010, a 53 percent increase from fiscal 2009. The company generated $81.9 million of cash flow from operations after capital expenditures during the year.