Philip Morris gets $750,000 from state

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — A Charlotte newspaper reports the state gave Philip Morris USA $750,000 just weeks before the cigarette maker announced it's closing its factory in Concord.

The Charlotte Observer reports the nation's top tobacco company could also continue collecting local tax breaks as it closes operations through 2010.

The parent of Philip Morris, Altria Group, said Tuesday it's cutting half its US manufacturing base as it moves production for non-US markets to Europe. That includes closing the Cabarrus County plant that employs 25-hundred people.

State and county officials say they're looking into whether the company will get money it's still owed under a 2004 deal.