The move will be done in stages: the employees will begin to be relocated to temporary offices in Boston from this summer until the new premises in the Seaport District is completed by 2018.
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The new headquarters of the company will be located in an area buzzing with activity with about fifty five colleges, universities and research centers around.
In a statement on Wednesday, GE Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said his company wants “to be at the center of an ecosystem that shares our aspirations”. “We are excited to bring our headquarters to this dynamic and creative city”.
Malloy said he offered GE, quote, “a lot” of incentives to stay. That potential $140 million will come via grants, tax incentives, infrastructure improvements, and help with real estate acquisition costs. GE also is eligible for $1 million in workforce training grants, and up to $5 million to foster relations between the company, research institutions, and universities. It was unclear from which GE offices those employees will be relocated.
Joseph McGee, the vice president of the Business Council of Fairfield County, said it was an “iconic loss” for the town.
A cheer went up in the Massachusetts House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon when Speaker Robert DeLeo announced GE’s decision. It is clear that GE’s decision has nothing to do with taxes, or even business costs, and can not fairly be viewed as a referendum on Connecticut’s growing economy.
The company publicized its frustrations with CT in June, when state lawmakers approved a two-year, $40 billion budget that raised levies on businesses and wealthy individuals.
GE already has almost 5,000 employees across the state in such business lines as Aviation, Oil & Gas and Energy Management.
But talent also was a draw.
The 124-year-old company is undergoing a major restructuring to emphasise digital and industrial capabilities.
“Being a finalist will be an opportunity for Governor Raimondo and her economic development team to leverage and promote the idea that Rhode Island is open for business – much like Tucson and San Antonio did after losing the highly coveted Tesla “Gigafactory” to Reno a year ago”, he said in a recent email.
The company has not yet decided on a site for its new headquarters, but will likely choose an area along the South Boston Waterfront.
Those workers, split between the company’s GE Digital, Current, robotics and life sciences divisions, will be better able to share technology developments across business units, the company said, helping develop software applications to run the machinery the company manufacturers.
GE has been based on a 68-acre suburban campus in Fairfield since 1974.
CT ranks near the bottom in the Tax Foundation’s annual list of state business tax climates.
Malloy continued, saying “Taken as a whole, there is no denying that CT has had more good days than days like today”.
Governor Dannel Malloy says he couldn’t compete with the location in Boston.
General Electric, the largest industrial company in the United States, makes products like jet engines, locomotives and gas turbines.
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At Andros Diner and Restaurant, there is concern that the departure of that many families from the community could have a trickledown effect on local businesses. A company spokesperson tells Globest.com that GE sold additional floors it owned to Comcast in 2013 when it sold NBC Universal to the firm.
