Malloy announces Durand as new Chief of Staff

GE is headquartered in Fairfield, employing about 800 people.

“They had us in”.

“I have had some discussions with GE lately”, Malloy said this week, after reports that the blue-chip manufacturer was entertaining offers from not only New York, its former home, but urban centers in the South and Southwest.

GE first spoke publicly about its discontent with the state of Connecticut in June, during budget negotiations which proposed to raise tax burdens on corporations, including imposing a unitary tax, or combined reporting on companies that operate in multiple states.

He cautioned, however, that it will likely take more than individual negotiating to improve the state’s position with other companies. “We don’t know what the situation is until they’ve made a decision”.

“It just speaks to the fact that if our economic policies were as rock solid as they suggested and had a future for the state of Connecticut that was fiscally responsible, why would any company want to leave, and why would you make a package to keep them?”

“We have formed an exploratory team to assess the company’s options to relocate corporate headquarters”.

He said Connecticut has grown more than 80,000 private sector jobs, crime has also dropped to historic lows, and the number of uninsured in the state has “been cut in half”. “But, we can compare Connecticut with other states where small and large businesses have a better environment to thrive and compete”.

Besides Fairfield, the company has locations in Norwalk and Plainville.