General Electric announced today it's moving its corporate headquarters to the South Boston waterfront from Connecticut.
“GE aspires to be the most competitive company in the world,” said GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt. “Today, GE is a $130 billion high-tech global industrial company, one that is leading the digital transformation of industry. We want to be at the center of an ecosystem that shares our aspirations. Greater Boston is home to 55 colleges and universities. Massachusetts spends more on research & development than any other region in the world, and Boston attracts a diverse, technologically-fluent workforce focused on solving challenges for the world. ...
In Boston, GE will have roughly 800 people; 200 from corporate staff and 600 digital industrial product managers, designers and developers split between GE Digital, Current, robotics and Life Sciences. A GE Digital Foundry will be created for co-creation, incubation and product development with customers, startups and partners.
The company did not say specifically where the new headquarters would be, but that employees will start moving up here this summer. GE expects the entire move to take about two years.
Mayor Walsh announced he is readying a $25-million tax break while the state is looking at a $120-million goodie bag to entice GE to move its high-paid executives here.
In addition, the two announced extra commitments, including $1 million for workforce training and money to help "eligible" GE workers buy homes in Boston. Also: "Up to $5 million for an innovation center to forge connections between GE and innovators from Massachusetts research institutions and the higher education community."
The two also agreed not to renege on plans to improve transportation in the waterfront area.
In a statement, Walsh said:
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.
In addition to the tax breaks - to be spread out over 20 years, GE will finance the move by selling its current headquarters in Fairfield, CT and offices at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York.
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Comments
Fairfield
By anon
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 1:22pm
GE is in Fairfield, not Hartford.
"not a lot"
By lbb
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 9:23am
But they still don't want to pay it, because like all similar corporate welfare queens, they're not into paying their fair share.
Ha! Corporate welfare for
By whyaduck
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 12:55pm
corporate executives. It always amazes me that some folks give an easy bash to folks living in poverty getting assistance to help with food and shelter but when it comes to this...not so much. These guys are making huge amounts of money in salaries, et. al., and we give 'em tax breaks to move, let me get this, their corporate headquarters (which, according to the article, will employ hundreds of folk's making huge salaries to be corporate) to one of the up and coming areas of Boston. Now, I could see if, say, they want to actually manufacture something here (i.e. blue collar jobs) and hire folks to do that, but, wait, oh, darn:
"But GE is also closing down a valve factory in Avon — eliminating roughly 300 local, largely blue-collar jobs — and shifting the work that’s done there to a new plant in Florida."
GE does not bring good things to light.
Yes
By bosguy22
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 1:03pm
Because the only "good" jobs are manufacturing jobs.
yup agreed
By cybah
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 1:05pm
Agreed. There's never any outrage about this sort of stuff. But stand behind someone at the supermarket with an iPhone and WIC checks and OMG THE WORLD IS ENDING SOMETHING MUST BE DONE THEY ARE FLEECING THE SYSTEM
Let's put this into prospective... 247/mo in food stamps vs 130Million over 20 years (which works out to be 541,666/mo) Yet people are upset over a piddly $247 dollars? Where's your outrage now?
No more good things
By Lecil
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 1:08pm
They changed their slogan to "Imagination at Work" several years ago, just before they bought the company I was working for. We were all disappointed in the slogan change, largely because of it's total lack of traction with the public and the fact that when we'd correct our friends and loved ones we'd get a big "Huh?" in response.
We were also really disappointed when they laid us all off a few years later, just as the economy was tanking.
GE confirms move to South Boston waterfront
By adamg
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 1:36pm
I've updated the original post.
2016 Boston City Council Committees
By theszak
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 4:16am
2016 Boston City Council Committees
https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/40urpp/20...
Unfortunately, Former Council President Flaherty continues as Chair of Government Operations Committee, the Councilor less likely to improve bad Records Management practices at Boston City Council.
Weird coincidence
By Kaz
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 2:41pm
GE owns NBC (Hi, Jack Donaghy!).
NBC wants to leave WHDH/Boston.
GE wants to move to Boston.
Not irony...just weird.
No, GE sold NBC several years ago
By necturus
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 3:25pm
Comcast owns NBC now.
Not any more
By Lecil
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 3:35pm
GE sold NBC/Universal to Comcast back in 2013.
*conspiracy theory goes poof*
Ah
By Kaz
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 3:45pm
I hadn't realized Comcast finally finished off the other half of NBC from GE. Until 2013, GE still owned 49%.
Remember
By anon
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 8:11pm
it's Kabletown now.
Check your couch.
G.E.
By bostnkid
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 2:43pm
david letterman loved working for them!
So didn't Ronald Reagan (
By kvn
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 4:00pm
So didn't Ronald Reagan ( General Electric Theater https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric_The... )
Will Owen be bringing
By Dave
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 3:49pm
Will Owen be bringing Grandpappy's hammer?
Over-enthusiastic press release, part 1
By adamg
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 4:32pm
Hokay, it turns out that the financial aid the city will give "eligible" GE employees for housing is not, in fact, a real incentive offered to GE, but an existing city program available to everybody seeking to buy their first primary residence in Boston, in which the city will provide a 0% loan towards the purchase of a house, condo or triple decker - and then forgive the loan completely if the purchaser stays there for ten years. It's available to anybody who makes no more than 120% of the city's average median income, who has no more than $75,000 in household assetts and who takes classes on home buying and ownership.
So, of course, why was this even mentioned in the mayor's press release? Maybe this is in line with other "incentives" the city could offer GE, including free library cards for all employees, access to all city parks and a chance for their children to enroll for free in Boston public schools.
Wait a minute; a first time
By Patricia
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 4:38pm
Wait a minute; a first time home buyer can get a 0% loan from the city and only have to pay it for 10 yrs with the remaining balance written off?
Is this correct?
For 3-5% of your down payment, yes
By Kaz
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 4:45pm
Read the site. You basically have to be unable to afford a place on your own and the city will just help cover enough of the down payment to get you in the house, but the rest is still up to you and you need immaculate credit. Basically, if you would have had no problem buying a house in Nebraska, but you need to live in Boston for the next 10 years, they'll help you out a little bit.
That ought to be a big help
By Sock_Puppet
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 8:48am
For people moving from rustic Fairfield to the teeming metropolisn't
Move
By lbb
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 9:30am
Oh look, some clever snark from a tut-tutter who loves to shake a finger about how we're not "world class" enough. It must really grind your gears to constantly have to deal with people that you can't emotionally manipulate. If you find "the teeming metropolisn't" doesn't live up to your elevated culture-critic standards, you should feel free to move. Otherwise, stop being so presumptuous.
It's okay
By Sock_Puppet
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 12:39pm
I can make my comment easier to understand, lbb.
Average home price, Fairfield: 521,800
Average home price, Boston: 477,100
(per Zillow)
Fairfield isn't Nebraska, and Boston isn't New York. Relocated GE workers from Fairfield are unlikely to take advantage of the special mortgage deal discussed here.
Did that help?
Try again
By lbb
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 1:36pm
Sorry, my comment was in reference to your childish snark, not to average home prices. Try again.
on that note
By Malcolm Tucker
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 4:41pm
Boston Magazine reports that GE has, historically, been very naughty with regards to taxes:
Yeah, let's give 'em some tax breaks and find 'em some houses.
Nor are they very good with
By redheadedjen
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 12:06pm
Nor are they very good with cleaning up their messes. They are contesting the latest EPA plan to clean the Housatonic River, which they polluted, which may not be in Boston but we pay for it out here. Those decision makers are moving here.
Is that illegal?
By merlinmurph
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 12:57pm
So, of course they've been prosecuted for their wrongdoings. That's right, they haven't done anything illegal tax-wise. Tax avoidance is something everybody does - or should do. When they start evading taxes (and maybe they are, that's up to the lawyers), then you'll have a point.
uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
By Malcolm Tucker
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 2:58pm
You know what, I'm gonna expose myself as lefty socialist scum, but to hell with it: if you avoid paying your taxes, you are a jerk. Taxes, in theory, are what allow the government to govern, to maintain infrastructure, to provide services to its citizens. Are there better ways to use the taxes that are collected? I'm sure. Should a huge corporation like GE hide billions of dollars so it can avoid paying its fair share in taxes? I certainly don't think so.
Lots of things aren't illegal that should be, things that are legal shouldn't be, etc., etc. A more perfect union, as we like to think of ourselves, should constantly work to provide the greatest good to the greatest number of its people. Permitting corporations to shelter billions of dollars' worth of taxes, due to some technicality or loophole or whatever, is not good for people. It is good for people who already have plenty of money, thanks very much.
Tax avoidance
By merlinmurph
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 4:15pm
Let's get some definitions down. "Tax avoidance" means paying every bit of tax you legally owe - and no more. Not to be confused with tax evasion. I'm guessing you're already aware of this, but it didn't seem like it.
For a lowlife like myself, there is very little (none?) opportunity to cheat on taxes, and I don't do it. I take all the available deductions (avoiding taxes) and pay what I owe. Some say "One man's deduction is another man's loophole", and well, so be it. That's a whole other discussion. Again, my taxes are so simple.
When it comes to big corporations, that's a whole different world. It becomes a big battle where corporate lawyers make millions, fighting the IRS over interpretations of the tax law. And that's what it is - interpretation. You or I or anybody else here knows nothing when it comes to this stuff. So when somebody like you or Bernie say some corporation is sheltering billions of dollars thru some loophole, I say change the fucking tax law, because when it comes down to it, it's what the law says and for the lawyers to battle over. Yeah, it sucks sometimes, but don't expect some corporation to pay billions in taxes if they legally don't have to.
I wonder how many people here pay MA sales tax on mail order items that weren't taxed when ordered.
Bernie and I agree
By Malcolm Tucker
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 6:14pm
You're correct: I don't like that tax avoidance is legal while tax evasion is illegal. Changing tax laws so that these things can't happen is vitally important. For individuals, it's unlikely to be that pervasive (or expensive) as a problem; for corporations, it's a massive problem.
Anyway, #feeltheBern.
Hypocrisy?
By Kaz
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 3:45pm
Murph, I hope I can't go back through your post history and find a single comment where you complained about the state the MBTA is in...
See above
By merlinmurph
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 4:15pm
n/t
GE is a great company that
By eastiesveryown
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 5:00pm
GE is a great company that cares about it's impact to the community! If anybody needs a reminder of how great GE is, take a trip to the bustling city of Lynn or maybe a swim in Housatonic River!
One question
By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 5:10pm
How the hell does Mayuh Mahty think all these people are going to get to and from work in that area?
Or is GE going to build a monorail system just for its employees?
They already have a private T station
By BostonDog
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 10:51pm
They have a private stop on the commuter rail. Any other business have this?
Lynn is not South Boston Waterfront
By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 11:12pm
Just so you know.
And the River Works plant
By roadman
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 3:36pm
is a shadow of its former self.
Offhand, I don't know of any
By Rob
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 12:34am
Offhand, I don't know of any in MA, but I assume others existed and wouldn't be surprised if one or two still exist.
I have seen it in other places.
In Rahway, NJ - there used to be a Merck station. Closed in 1993. I thought it was between Avenel Station (in North Woodbridge) and Rahway Station, but I looked it up - turns out it was in North Rahway, between Rahway and Elizabeth Stations.
In Garden City, NY - Country-Life Press Station on the LIRR was built to serve the Doubleday facility there (but has been a publicly-accessible station for decades).
They are going to take the
By kvn
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 2:05pm
They are going to take the Mattapan trolleys and run a dedicated line from South Station through the Post Office terminal, down A street , over to the smart zone.
Did we "outbid" the other contenders?
By Michael Kerpan
Wed, 01/13/2016 - 8:03pm
Or did GE decide to come here _despite_ other places offering bigger "incentives"?
Inquiring minds want to know...
More office space and
By Rob
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 12:40am
More office space and corporate relocation & development in the Seaport area. Hmmm....
Give it to me straight, folks. I'm a World-Class City (tm) world-class kind of guy, and I can shoulder all sorts of challenges & adversity. I just need someone to say it out loud for me...
My $9, all-day, just barely paved, park my car and walk over to High Street is never coming back, is it?
I'd like a little property
By Arthur
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 8:13am
I'd like a little property tax relief. Help me out with my mortgage payments there Marty. I can't believe I actually held signs for him. He's a huge disappointment. This city is gone. Another crappy deal for the people who made this city. Big business, Gold--Lifelong residents, Brick.
You do get property-tax relief
By adamg
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 8:20am
Assuming you actually live in Boston in a house that's your primary residence, then every year you're eligible for a property-tax break. There may be plenty of reasons to criticize the GE deals, but, come on, let's not get ridiculous here.
"Property tax relief"
By lbb
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 9:33am
1. Property tax != mortgage payments, fyi, but...
2. ...both are tax deductions, and that is a substantial amount of "relief".
Not taxing taxes isn't "relief"
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 3:58pm
It is simply that you cannot be taxed on money that you paid in taxes.
Your landlord doesn't pay taxes on taxes either.
Infrastructure
By waspypants
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 2:10pm
800 more people in the seaport. Any word on how GE intends to explain to its employees about the gridlock to overwhelms the seaport during rush hour?
Not to mention
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 01/14/2016 - 3:59pm
How very wonderful and reliable that the MBTA is as an alternative?
I'm guessing they'll want
By waspypants
Fri, 01/15/2016 - 11:11am
I'm guessing they'll want their employees to walk to work through the silver line tunnels since the silver line busses are already pretty full at rush hour.
More harbor ferries!
By kvn
Fri, 01/15/2016 - 8:05am
More harbor ferries!
In other big GE news, China’s
By kvn
Fri, 01/15/2016 - 8:44am
In other big GE news, China’s Haier buying GE appliance for $5.4 billion
"BEIJING (AP) — Haier Group, the world’s biggest home appliance maker, is buying General Electric Co.’s appliance business for $5.4 billion to expand its U.S. and global presence.
The acquisition announced Friday comes as Haier tries to transform itself into a premium brand. GE is shifting emphasis from traditional businesses such as appliances, in which it has been a prominent presence for more than a century, to higher-technology areas such as medical equipment and clean energy.''
https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/01/15/ch...
They are freeing up funds all over the place, all we need now is Warren Buffett to join in..........
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