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No Fidelity to Hub: Up to 1,500 employees to exit
Boston Herald ^
| 1/6/2006
| Scott Van Voorhis and Jay Fitzgerald
Posted on 01/06/2006 4:08:21 AM PST by saveliberty
No Fidelity to Hub: Up to 1,500 employees to exit By Scott Van Voorhis and Jay Fitzgerald Friday, January 6, 2006 - Updated: 12:14 AM EST
The Hubs battered job base buckled yesterday, with Fidelity Investments confirming plans to export jobs to Rhode Island in a move that could pull as many as 1,500 workers out of downtown Boston. The move by one of Bostons oldest and largest employers, first reported in yesterdays Herald, will eventually send 800 workers to a new building in the works on Fidelitys growing, Smithfield, R.I., campus. In the meantime, 400 of those workers will be sent packing this June to temporary offices in Providence until the new Smithfield offices are ready. In a sign that underscores the significance of its decision, Fidelitys key Personal Investments division will move its headquarters, now in a Financial District high-rise, to Smithfield, an internal Fidelity memo obtained by the Herald said. Among the Fidelity units slated to move to Providence in June, according to the memo, are Brokerage Products & Asset Management, Compliance, Distribution, Marketing and Retirement Services. Some workers in Fidelity Brokerage Co.s support services, such as Finance, Human Resources, Risk, Learning & Communications and Meetings & Events, are also shipping out of the Hub. News of Fidelitys big job pullout prompted a phone conference yesterday between Mayor Thomas M. Meninos office and Fidelity. We had some discussions, Menino spokesman Seth Gitell said. Some were less restrained in lamenting the impact of Fidelitys decision, calling it a troubling sign for a city and state economy beset with sky-high housing costs and regulatory red tape. Fidelitys job shift comes after a recent announcement by longtime Hub tech powerhouse Teradyne that it will be leaving. Gillette, bought by Procter & Gamble earlier this year, is also shedding Boston jobs. This is what we have been afraid of this is the other shoe dropping that we have been waiting for, said David Begelfer, head of a trade group that represents Boston area real estate executives. It should be a wake-up call. Along with shifting jobs to Rhode Island, Fidelity will move another 400 to 700 employees to other regional offices, including a corporate campus it has steadily expanded in Merrimack, N.H. The prospect of leaving downtown Boston for suburban Rhode Island and New Hampshire has sparked concern among some Fidelity employees not eager to be uprooted. The company memo, sent by Jeff Carney, president of Fidelity Personal Investments, alludes to such concerns. Fidelity plans to brief employees and sell them on Rhode Island in an upcoming meeting. I realize that many of our Boston-based associates will have concerns about moving to a new area or facing a longer commute, Carney wrote. Crowley said the moves are part of Fidelitys attempt to create geographic diversity, and assures multiple back-up systems. She acknowledged that recently passed tax breaks in Rhode Island partly influenced Fidelitys decisions. Though its reducing its current 12,795 Massachusetts work force, Crowley said it expects to remain a strong headquarters presence in the state in coming years. Still, Carney wasnt shy about singing the Ocean States praises. Rhode Island offers an attractive business climate and an excellent quality of life, he wrote. |
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TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: business; fidelity; financialservices; jobloss; massachusetts; taxes
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The state's a mess, that's for sure
To: All
FYI, Boston used to be a center for financial services but the high taxes and expensive real estate have given companies something to think about.
2
posted on
01/06/2006 4:10:49 AM PST
by
saveliberty
(Proud to be Head Snowflake and Bushbot)
To: saveliberty
Eh, just higher rents than R.I. It's pretty simple.
3
posted on
01/06/2006 4:11:55 AM PST
by
billybudd
To: saveliberty
She acknowledged that recently passed tax breaks in Rhode Island partly influenced Fidelitys decisions.
Follow the money. Here in NY the local papers run a story about tax increases in column A, and another story in Column B wondering why people are leaving the state in droves. Duh.
4
posted on
01/06/2006 4:12:51 AM PST
by
oh8eleven
(RVN '67-'68)
To: billybudd
Smithfield is pretty cheap. And there is less competition for skilled workers.
5
posted on
01/06/2006 4:13:37 AM PST
by
saveliberty
(Proud to be Head Snowflake and Bushbot)
To: oh8eleven
6
posted on
01/06/2006 4:15:04 AM PST
by
saveliberty
(Proud to be Head Snowflake and Bushbot)
To: saveliberty
When you relocate your business to another state, it's now called "exporting jobs"? Pathetic.
7
posted on
01/06/2006 4:15:08 AM PST
by
SJSAMPLE
To: SJSAMPLE
Right, because no changes in behavior are supposed to happen. Ever. Especially when money is involved.
8
posted on
01/06/2006 4:18:07 AM PST
by
saveliberty
(Proud to be Head Snowflake and Bushbot)
To: SJSAMPLE
Hey it could be worse...they could have exported the jobs to less expensive accountants in India or China!
9
posted on
01/06/2006 4:20:44 AM PST
by
mdmathis6
(Proof against evolution:"Man is the only creature that blushes, or needs to" M.Twain)
To: mdmathis6
Financial services tried the India experiment. Some of them had to bring the jobs back, because customers complained of the language barrier (we speak English differently) and the cultural barrier (inability to understand that the customer is right).
On the other hand, tech jobs can be successful. For example, the night crew for Oracle is in India and they are really good.
10
posted on
01/06/2006 4:38:35 AM PST
by
saveliberty
(Proud to be Head Snowflake and Bushbot)
To: saveliberty
Not only that, you need a Series 7 license to perform many of these functions. I don't know if it's possible for Indian nationals living in India to get one.
To: proxy_user
If they are acting as fiduciaries, yes, that would be an issue. But there are plenty of service jobs that aren't.
Net net, they tried it and some had to roll it back.
12
posted on
01/06/2006 4:52:31 AM PST
by
saveliberty
(Proud to be Head Snowflake and Bushbot)
To: saveliberty
What's the difference between a company moving from central city to suburbs of that city?
Or to an adjacent state?
Or to a distant state?
Or to an adjacent country?
Or to a distant country?
Does an employer have a "property right" in the jobs it creates?
Does an employee have a "property right" in the job he has?
Does a government have the "power" to regulate when and where a job can move in or out of its jurisdiction?
To: saveliberty
***"this is the other shoe dropping that we have been waiting for,***
Massachusetts lost its once viable shoe industry for the same reasons.
Shoe manufacturers left Massachusetts starting after the First World War because of, they said, higher production costs here than elsewhere in the United States or overseas, such as wages, union demands, and government regulations. Workers in Asia oftentimes earn less than a dollar per hour. (Massachusetts News By John Pike).
14
posted on
01/06/2006 4:54:54 AM PST
by
ASA.Ranger
(I'll forgive Jane Fonda when the Jews forgive Hitler!)
To: SJSAMPLE
When you relocate your business to another state, it's now called "exporting jobs"? Pathetic.To Kennedy, Kerry, and the other Boston-centric stuck-ups, there is Massachuchets and then the rest of the world. So to them, it is 'exporting jobs.'
Look for a rise in taxes to make up for the loss of revenue. /s
15
posted on
01/06/2006 5:00:20 AM PST
by
CPOSharky
(Taxation WITH representation kinda sucks too.)
To: CPOSharky
I PRAY that they raise taxes in Taxachusetts to make up for this. Might wake those idiots up.
16
posted on
01/06/2006 5:06:12 AM PST
by
SJSAMPLE
To: saveliberty
You know your city and state taxes are out of control when the state of Rhode Island is considered a tax shelter.
To: saveliberty
And the housing bubble in Boston takes another prick...
Boston is going to splat very soon...
18
posted on
01/06/2006 5:36:52 AM PST
by
2banana
(My common ground with terrorists - They want to die for Islam, and we want to kill them.)
To: saneright
Actually RI does cut tax deals to businesses that settle there.
19
posted on
01/06/2006 5:43:52 AM PST
by
saveliberty
(Proud to be Head Snowflake and Bushbot)
To: 2banana
20
posted on
01/06/2006 5:44:10 AM PST
by
saveliberty
(Proud to be Head Snowflake and Bushbot)
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