General Electric Moving to Boston

The new corporate headquarters will have about 800 employees, comprised of 200 corporate staff and 600 digital industrial product managers, designers and developers for GE’s Digital, Current, robotics and Life Sciences divisions, the multinational company said in a statement Wednesday. Manufacturing company General Electric (NYSE:GE) is reportedly moving its headquarters to Boston.

For years, GE has been at the forefront of industrial companies seeking to use sensor data and clever software to make its machines smarter, using less fuel and predicting when they need maintenance before breakdowns occur.

To offset the cost of the move the company said it will sell its offices in Fairfield and at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

“We haven’t made any announcements and do not have a comment at this time”, GE spokeswoman Jennifer Erickson said.

“We’re not going to win every challenge to keep [businesses], but we’ve won more than we’ve lost”, Malloy said, according WFSB reporter Matthew Campbell. “They had nothing but praise about the governor and his staff”.

The move was prompted by a change in corporate-tax policies in CT past year.

Boston offered $25 in property tax breaks in the Seaport District, while MA will be on the hook for up to $120 million depending on what site GE chooses. “Retroactively raising taxes again on Connecticut’s residents, businesses and services makes businesses, including our own, and citizens seriously consider whether it makes any sense to continue to be located in this state”.

“GE recognizes the innovations in our city, the educational institutions in our city, the diversity of our city, the people of our city, and the business-friendly environment of our city that we’re putting out there”, Walsh said.

Others in CT disagreed, anxious the announced move will further hurt the state’s reputation despite efforts to attract out-of-state companies and change the tax structure.

“Over the course of the past couple months it’s been particularly intense”, Baker said yesterday.

“Massachusetts may reflect a shift in emphasis by Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE”, said David Cadden, professor emeritus in the School of Business at Quinnipiac University.

According to Immelt, the company chose Boston among 40 other locations, with GE being pursued by Rhode Island, Georgia and NY.

The company said it chose Boston after a consideration of factors including the business ecosystem, quality of life for employees and connections with the world.

GE workers build mainstay military and commercial jet engines and helicopter engines at the River Works complex wedged between the commuter rail tracks and Western Avenue. The briefing will include state and city officials and business leaders.

“Fairfield County is still going to remain a top destination for corporate headquarters”, Mr. Lanza said.

GE had a strong year in 2015.

GE has been based on a 68-acre suburban campus in Fairfield since 1974. “Not only will local housing markets be adversely impacted, but significant economic multipliers on jobs, spending, and tax revenue now come into play, affecting other sectors of the local economy, too”. Tony Hwang, a Connecticut Republican, said about the move.