Come 2018, General Electric Co. will be fully established at its new home in the Seaport District of Boston. Originally located in Fairfield, Connecticut since 1974, GE decided to make the move to Boston “after being offered a massive package of tax breaks and incentives.” The company had been looking to move locations for the past three years. They experienced higher taxes in Connecticut and after the “state budget raised taxes on corporations” in 2015, GE was even more inclined to move their headquarters.
Many cities were in competition with Boston to acquire the “$130 billion global industrial giant” but the financial support and shared aspirations between GE and the Boston area convinced the company to settle with Massachusetts. The deal “included $120 million from the state through grants and other programs, and up to $25 million in property tax relief from the city, according to a joint statement from Gov. Charlie Baker and Mayor Marty Walsh’s offices.” The “diverse” and “technologically fluent workforce” in the state of Massachusetts also attracted GE as it “spends more on research and development than any other region in the world.”
The convenience of Logan International Airport also “offered [GE] ‘connections with the world’ through its nonstop flights to important cities across the world which was not available at its location in Connecticut.
The “upbeat” economy of Boston as described in the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book along with its “young, well-educated workers” makes Boston a promising home for GE to further advance its successful company (Geewax).
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