GE Scraps Plans For Boston HQ, Giving Back $87M To Massachusetts

FAIRFIELD, CT — Things certainly haven’t gone well for General Electric since the company decided to bolt its Fairfield headquarters for Boston more than two years ago. After calling Fairfield home for 42 years, GE was lured to Massachusetts with about $150 million in tax breaks and incentives in early 2016. Ever since then, it's been bad news for the multinational conglomerate. In the latest development, GE will sell property it had purchased in Fort Point for its headquarters and reimburse the state for the $87-million tax incentive package Massachusetts offered the company in 2016, the Boston Globe first reported on Thursday.

GE said it was scaling back its plans for locating in Massachusetts and will fall far short of creating the 800 jobs it promised. GE, however, is staying in Boston and still plans to move into two buildings in Necco Court following renovations. About 250 people will work at Necco Court, slightly more than the company now employs in office space it leases nearby. But GE confirmed what had been assumed for several months: that the struggling company will not move forward to build a 12-story building that would have served as its global headquarters.

Separately, GE will work with the city of Boston to scrap a tax incentive plan that could have been worth as much as $25 million, according to the Boston Globe. Since Larry Culp was named chief executive in October, the company has moved to dramatically cut costs.

The state package had been for up to $120 million, but GE stopped submitting for reimbursements several months ago. That gave rise to fears that the company was scaling back its plans. MassDevelopment, a quasi-public agency that owns part of the property, will work together to sell the Fort Point property.

With reporting by Dave Copeland, Patch Staff

See also:

• GE Faces $31 Billion Pension 'Nightmare': Report
• GE Could Break Up As Stocks Continue To Plummet
• Boston Bound: GE Makes Its Decision
• Malloy: GE's Move to Boston 'Hurts'
• GE CEO Jeff Immelt Sells New Canaan Mansion
• General Electric CFO 'Hated' Fairfield Headquarters: Report