One company had 61,000 employees, the other had two. Both got multi-million dollar contracts to rebuild Puerto Rico
$840 million
Officials rebuilding the power grid of Puerto Rico are more than tripling the size of their contract with Texas firm Fluor, from $240 million to $840 million.
Published
| Photo by Reuters/Alvin Baez The expanded contract came days after local authorities decided to cancel a controversial contract with small Montana firm Whitefish.
The no-bid deal raised suspicion of favoritism and is now reportedly being probed by the FBI.
Founded a century ago, Fluor employs 61,000 people. Founded two years ago, Whitefish employs two. Fluor operates in 100 countries while Whitefish operates only in the US.
Nevertheless, when picking contractors, authorities gave $300 million to Whitefish, the small Montana firm, and $240 million to Fluor, the largest construction company in the Fortune 500.
Reuters/Alvin Baez