The company said the package of incentives offered by the state of MA and Boston would help offset the cost of relocation. The Republican spoke with WBUR in Boston.
Advertisement
“The big message here is this is a great place not to be for the next two years or the next five years, but for the next 50 years”, Baker said.
About 800 GE employees will work in the Boston headquarters – majority digital industrial product managers. The full move is expected to be completed in several steps by 2018. The bulk of GE’s employees in CT are located outside Fairfield in offices of GE Capital, the lending unit that is being shrunk as the company shifts its focus to manufacturing.
However, according to some analysts there are also some tax reasons involved, including higher corporate taxes decided in the middle of last year by the neighboring state of CT, where GE had its headquarters in Fairfield for over 40 years. Lawmakers responded by scaling back some increases, but still passed the second largest tax hike in state history.
According to media reports in June, GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, started planning to find a new headquarters by emailing employees and telling them that company was considering relocating to a state with “a more pro-business environment”.
“On one level, NY would have appeared been a strong candidate”.
“Of course I’m disappointed”.
However, it remains to be seen how big of a role it will play and how many legislative races it could impact. “Today’s decision is a clear signal that CT must continue to adapt to a changing business climate”. The planned move is a blow to CT, which in December reduced corporate taxes to thwart criticism that the state is unfriendly to business.
GE has approximately 5,700 employees in CT.
This was probably the first instance in state history of a company making a request of that nature, officials said at the time.
“GE’s move brings a host of benefits to the MA economy, from top-level jobs to innovation to an unmatched global market presence”, Lord said.
“You win some and you lose some, and luckily we’ve won more than we lost”. We’re going to lose jobs, income for the town.
To finance the move to that as yet unspecified address in the Seaport, GE states that it will sell its offices in Fairfield, CT and its offices at the iconic 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. The Connecticut GOP has sounded off about the announcement, placing blame on Democrats.
Mr. Fasano said the Democratic-controlled state Legislature was at fault for GE’s departure because it couldn’t address GE’s concerns. “That’s why he left”.
“I think GE is a positive for Worcester”, Murray told Worcester Magazine. “We’re not doing it.’ And that’s why we couldn’t come to an agreement”.
Advertisement
In a statement, Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey (D-Hamden) said “GE’s decision to relocate across the border to downtown Boston is certainly disappointing, yet we remain a favored location for companies to thrive”. Despite lucrative offers from New York, GE was attracted to Boston as an innovation and technology hub surrounded by top-tier academic institutions.
