Nov. 1—A bioscience company might be asked to return $750,000 in state economic development dollars after it failed to create the number of jobs it promised.
The Los Alamos County Council introduced an ordinance Tuesday to terminate the economic development project with Pebble Labs, which researches food and crop security and looks for ways to reduce pesticides and waste in agriculture. If paid back, the money would revert to the state for other economic development projects.
Pebble Labs did not respond to a request for comment.
A spinoff from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the company was started in 2016 by Richard Sayre. Three years later, it was expected to almost triple its workforce in the coming years, from 83 to around 230, and build five new buildings at its Los Alamos campus in a $60 million, 10-year construction project.
The state delivered millions in Local Economic Development Act funds to the company in 2019. Capped at $4 million, it was one of the largest parcels of LEDA funds granted that year.
In return, the company was required to create up to 230 jobs in a 10-year period. At the company's peak, New Mexico Economic Development Department spokesperson Bruce Krasnow wrote in an email, it employed 58 people in the state. Now it employs 18.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the employee goal seemed unlikely. In a 2022 amendment to the initial terms of the state funding, which reduced the required amount of job creation and created a lower funding cap, the Economic Development Department noted the company had shifted to a remote workforce, which "affected Pebble Labs' ability to require new hires to move to New Mexico."
A department analysis in May estimated over the next 10 years, the operations will result in $2.62 million delivered to the state through tax dollars and a total economic impact of $49.2 million.
"Taking into account that analysis and other considerations, the EDD will be clawing back and requiring that the company pay back $750,000 to the state," Krasnow wrote.
Los Alamos County also had kicked in more than 6 acres worth $1.4 million and an industrial revenue bond of $12.5 million. Industrial revenue bonds are paid back to the issuing agency.
The county did not immediately respond to questions.
As the county is the fiscal agent for the LEDA funds, the clawback can't begin until it's approved by the County Council.