Tetreau: More Questions Than Answers Following GE's Decision To Leave

Fairfield First Selectman Mike Tetreau is just like everybody else and trying to get answers on what happens next now that GE has made its decision and is moving its headquarters to Boston.

Tetreau said he first learned of the news this morning from media reports and GE had to scramble to get out information because of the leak.

GE had planned to announce its decision on Thursday but the Boston Globe first reported this morning and after it was leaked, Tetreau said GE had to scramble to notify its employees and officially get the word out.

Tetreau did personally hear from GE officials later in the morning and plans to meet with the company’s executives next week to discuss its exit strategy and to quantify its impact on Fairfield.

“We’ve been going through this process for six months,” Tetreau said. “It’s very disappointing that they are leaving Fairfield.”

Tetreau was also pleased to see in GE’s announcement that it planned to sell the Fairfield headquarters, especially in light of recent speculation that the company could possibly donate the campus to nearby Sacred Heart University.

• Related: Malloy: GE’s Move to Boston ‘Hurts’

In announcing that GE will relocate its headquarters to the Seaport District of Boston, CEO Jeff Immelt said the company wants to be “at the center of an ecosystem that shares our aspirations.”

“Greater Boston is home to 55 colleges and universities,” Immelt said in a statement. “Massachusetts spends more on research and development than any other region in the world, and Boston attracts a diverse, technologically-fluent workforce focused on solving challenges for the world. We are excited to bring our headquarters to this dynamic and creative city.”

Tetreau said that GE’s decision to relocate is mainly due to its branding transformation, as it aims to become a premier digital industrial company.

“It’s obvious that taxes aren’t the reason they are leaving,” Tetreau said. “It’s clear that they are leaving for business purposes.”

But now that they are leaving, Tetreau wants to know what will happen to the 800 employees at the current headquarters.

In its statement, GE said that 200 people from its corporate staff would be moving to the Boston headquarters but it remains to be seen what happens to the other 600 people and Tetreau is concerned about them.

Tetreau also said relocating is a big project for GE and he doesn’t know how long the company will actually be in Fairfield.

GE said in its announcement that employees will move to a temporary location in Boston starting in the summer of 2016, with a full move completed in several steps by 2018.

Tetreau is planning to meet with the town’s economic development recommendation group before sitting down with GE officials next week.

GE said in its statement that it will sell its offices in Fairfield and at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City to further offset the cost of the move.

Tetreau said right now there are more questions than answers until he meets with GE officials.

“There’s a host of questions,” he said.