Fairfield County officials, residents concerned about post-GE world

General Electric Corp. has shut down the rumor mill surrounding the possible relocation of the company’s global headquarters from Fairfield with an announcement that the city of Boston has been selected as the company’s new home. GE is set to receive $1 million workforce training grants and up to $5 million for an “innovation center” which will “forge connections between GE and innovators from MA research institutions”.

The company said this move would have no material financial impact, with costs compensation by city and state inducements and the sale of its present headquarters offices in Fairfield, Connecticut, and in New York City its offices at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

GE began its headquarters search in June 2015 with a list of 40 potential locations.

GE already has almost 5,000 employees across the state in such business lines as Aviation, Oil & Gas and Energy Management.

Also helping make the move pencil out is incentives of up to $120 million through grants and other programs offered by MA, and property tax relief valued at up to $25 million offered by the city of Boston.

The Fortune 500 company and Dow component has also considered other cities like New York, Providence, R.I. and several others for its headquarters.

On Wednesday, General Electric, one of the world’s largest and wealthiest companies, announced that it is moving its headquarters from Fairfield to Boston. The new headquarters will be located in Boston’s Seaport District with a temporary headquarters opening this year and a full move completed by 2018. “These same Democrats then had to backtrack, after they forced legislation upon companies without listening to them or even having a conversation about their perspective”, Fasano said in statement on Wednesday.

“For a company like GE, Connecticut has a very high top corporate income rate” he said.

Last year, GE along with other companies like Aetna and Travelers balked at proposed corporate tax hikes in CT.

The company is packing up its headquarters here and moving to Boston. The truth is, Boston innovators will need to do much more to remain competitive.

“Rhode Island’s was one of the strongest pitches of any state’s, and they were a finalist in our process”, GE spokesman Seth Martin said.

“It’s a punch in the stomach for the state of CT”, said state senator Tony Hwang, who represents Fairfield. “Of course we are disappointed, and we know that many in CT share that frustration”.

Major state and county business organizations have echoed Malloy’s dismay, calling the iconic company’s move a significant blow to the state’s image. It’s refocusing on making things that power the world, move people, purify water, connect cities and, for now at least, fit kitchens.

Although the tax breaks are generous, they were not the key reasons for GE’s choice of Boston.

Connecticut Republicans criticized the Democratic leadership in the state for creating what they said was a poor business environment.

GE has taken the move amid its broader effort to reduce corporate costs and streamline operations for what it has described as a new industrial era that will surround both software innovation and bended metal equally.