GE to still have CT presence

He insisted GE is moving its headquarters because of a high-tech corporate strategy shift, which fits better with Boston’s high-tech economy.

“GE was not bluffing”, he said, and the company’s decision is “reflective of not simply GE, but a number of other companies, hospitals and individuals in this state”.

In a statement, GE’s chief executive Jeff Immelt said, “We want to be at the center of an ecosystem that shares our aspirations”. So is access to top academic talent and innovation; GE specifically cited Greater Boston’s 55 colleges and universities.

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

Judging from the Boston-area reaction to GE’s announcement, Boston is now poised to become the next Silicon Valley. “We’re dead in the water”, Arthur Caraballo, of Bridgeport, said.

Its move will make it the largest publicly traded company in MA. “Boston is delighted and honored to welcome General Electric and its employees to our community and we are confident that this is the start of a strong partnership”, Walsh said in a statement on Wednesday.

Although GE has been scouting new locations for three years and Boston was rumored to be on the shortlist, Stewart told CPE the announcement still came as somewhat of a surprise to many in the industry, but that it seems to be welcome news. “While we have every reason to believe that some GE jobs will remain, we had hoped that GE’s corporate headquarters would stay in Fairfield County”. GE’s business has dramatically changed its business and focus-as evidenced by its sale of GE Capital-and it is transforming away from financial services into a very different company.

A dispute over taxes in Connecticut-along with 1 million in tax breaks and other incentives from Boston and Massachusetts-aren’t the full story of General Electric’s decision to relocate to the Hub.

Despite what some have said, GE does pay taxes, according to FactCheck.org and ProPublica.

State Representative John Frey of Ridgefield, the Republican House Minority Whip, said he fought to keep GE in CT, and he believes GE’s departure will be “cataclysmic”.

That said, it’s no secret that Cuomo was trying to lure GE to NY, and his efforts might explain why the company’s move to Boston was portrayed as a big loss for both the state and the governor.

He said the company plans to sell its offices in Fairfield and at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City to further offset the cost of the move. GE has been looking for headquarters sites due to the possibility of higher state and local taxes on CT businesses and high-income earners. The move should be complete by 2018.

Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano called the move “devastating” and added CT residents “deserve an apology”. Although Massachusetts has been derided with the nickname “Taxachusetts” in the past, the Tax Foundation last month ranked the Commonwealth overall tax conditions 25th out of 50 states, although it scored a lower 39th for corporate taxes. But he said that progress needs to be accelerated by addressing costs for businesses and the looming budget deficits that are stopping new mandates.

State officials said the actual amount of public infrastructure work will depend on where the company eventually locates in the Seaport District. “Of course we are disappointed, and we know that many in CT share that frustration”. “But this hurts”, Malloy said.

In a piece that now seems quite prescient, Scott Kirsner, a writer for BetaBoston, a website that covers the city’s tech industry, predicted that GE would pick Boston.