DURHAM — A Wolfspeed employee at the company’s Durham facility died last Thursday, Oct. 13, and the N.C. Dept. of Labor has launched an investigation into the incident.
According to the Raleigh News & Observer, the employee was facilities electrician Vincent Farrell, 45, who was killed by electrocution.
“Wolfspeed is deeply saddened that a fatality occurred at our Durham, North Carolina, facility on Oct. 13,” said Melinda Walker, Wolfspeed’s director of corporate communications. “Our thoughts and condolences are with this employee’s family during this difficult time.”
The communications director for the Dept. of Labor told the News + Record the investigation would likely take several months to complete. Since the investigation is currently open, limited information is available at this time.
According to NCDOL, three workers died from electrocutions from 2019 to 2020.
For more information regarding NCDOL Occupational Safety and Health Division investigations processes visit www.labor.nc.gov/media/111/open.
The chip conductor manufacturer has plans to expand its workplace operations to Chatham County in the near future. Wolfspeed announced it would build the largest silicon carbide facility in the country in Chatham County last month with more than $5 billion in economic development and 1,800 jobs for the county. The 445-acre plant is planned for the Chatham Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) Site, thanks in part to a large local and state incentive package.
In the past 10 years, state department of labor investigations into the company have uncovered 17 workplace safety violations, including six serious violations. The most recent was found in 2015.