It said it also would sell its offices in Fairfield and at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in NY to help offset the cost of the move.
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However, GE ultimately chose Boston due to the fact that MA spends more on research and development compared with any other region worldwide, and because Boston attracts a diverse and technologically-fluent workforce which is focused on solving the many challenges of the world. The company is now housed in CT and will announce the move Thursday, The Boston Globe reported. “It affirms GE’s digital technology orientation and that strategic commitment for decades ahead”, said Steven Winoker, an analyst at Bernstein Research.
As of late 2015, GE had about 800 employees working at the Fairfield campus.
“We’re moving in that direction, but you got there first”, he said. It’s unclear how many will remain in the state.
GE is moving from CT, which was once a low-tax haven but now has an increasingly hostile business climate over recent years. “They had nothing but praise about the governor and his staff”.
Although the tax breaks are generous, they were not the key reasons for GE’s choice of Boston.
The announcement was mourned in CT, but MA officials rejoiced. “Retroactively raising taxes again on Connecticut’s residents, businesses and services make businesses, including our own, and citizens seriously consider whether it makes any sense to continue to be located in this state”. Murray said Worcester, which is home to nine colleges and universities, in addition to others in the surrounding area, would seem poised to benefit from a jobs maker such as GE.
Some Democrats brushed aside criticism of the state’s tax policy by pointing out that MA has combined unitary reporting, the very tax policy CT stepped away from in a second budget negotiation.
Richard C. Lord, president and CEO at the Associated Industries of MA, a business-advocacy group, called the announcement “a great day for MA”.
GE is believed to be considering a move to the Seaport district.
The Fortune 500 company and Dow component has also considered other cities like New York, Providence, R.I. and several others for its headquarters.
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”.
While Boston’s political and business leaders rejoiced at adding what Forbes ranks as the 9th most valuable brand in the world, their CT counterparts said the departure will have spillover effects on the state beyond just the loss of GE’s jobs.
“Our administration welcomes GE’s decision to take advantage of the unique resources that our state has to offer, ranging from our innovative economy to top universities”, Baker said. GE Aviation, the largest exporter in OH, has been a major beneficiary of the bank’s financing.
Despite what some have said, GE does pay taxes, according to FactCheck.org and ProPublica. A GE spokeswoman said discussion revolved around ways to redefine the role of the corporate headquarters, and that last year’s budget deal had prompted GE to hasten its exit.
Tony Hwang, a Connecticut Republican, said about the move.
Businesses care about talent, and we will continue our investments in our higher education system in order to connect them to the needs of high-tech employers.
Tetreau said the town also will survive GE’s relocation.
We didn’t really lose anything. We still have a strong commercial base… and we still have a lot of economic development going on…
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“Why would anyone pick Fairfield County to move their business?”
