General Electric Co. (GE) chief executive Jeff Immelt has pledged to spend $50 million on a series of initiatives in Boston. The pledge came from the executive's action to move their headquarters in the city.
According to Taipei Times, Jeff Immelt joined Republican Governor Charlie Baker and Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh on Monday to reveal the announcement regarding the company's decision. The company was formerly located in Fairfeld, Connecticut.
The General Electric Co. will occupy two buildings and establish a third one in the Boston's Fort Point neighborhood. Immelt disclosed that he's expecting to hire more than 4,000 people for temporary and permanent positions. Furthermore, he's keen that the plan to move into temporary offices in August will generate at least 800 new workers to the area and that the project will give more than a billion in the local economy.
Phys reported that Immelt is looking for the Boston area since it doesn't want to lose out on Silicon Valley over the growth of what he calls 'industrial Internet.' Meanwhile, Gov. Baker said that GE and Massachusetts are a good match and that 40% of the workers in the state belongs to the 'innovation economy.' The Governor extended his speech, saying that he's predicting that other companies will also relocate in Boston, following GE's move.
Now, the $50 million package unveiled will fund a career lab to help students prepare for the jobs in advanced manufacturing technology. Daily Mail wrote that the company is spending $15 million on community health centers and $10 million as well to expand diversity in healthcare, science and technology fields. Walsh said there is another $25 million pledge to the Boston schools made by GE.
However, there were protesters gathered outside of the press conference, stressing the million dollars in tax breaks and public incentives that were used to lure the company to the state. Nonetheless, the mayor was quick to answer, saying the project will end up having more revenue from the two warehouses than just letting it remain as they are.
