PAWTUCKET – In the wake of the revelation that Hasbro Inc. is again considering moving its headquarters out of Rhode Island, state and local officials are now scrambling to persuade the more-than-century old company to stay in the city.
Mayor Donald R. Grebian said his administration, along with Gov. Daniel J. McKee and R.I. Commerce Corp., has been in contact with Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks to finalize a meeting with the goal of "ensuring Hasbro continues to thrive in the place it has called home for so many years ... keeping this iconic company right here where it belongs.”
“All hands are on deck to keep this iconic company," he said. “Hasbro has been an integral part of Pawtucket’s identity for decades, playing a vital role in shaping the fabric of our community while growing into one of the world’s premier toy and game companies."
Hasbro last year announced it was laying off roughly 1,100 employees globally and departing its 135,400-square-foot office building in downtown Providence after its lease expires in January 2025. The company at the beginning of this year employed approximately 1,400 in the Ocean State, according to PBN’s 2024 Book of Lists.
In a repeat of 2018, when Hasbro publicly acknowledged it was considering a new location for a more modern headquarters near its Pawtucket location, less than a mile from the Massachusetts state line, a Hasbro spokesperson on Monday said the company is now in "informal" discussions with Massachusetts state officials.
Karissa Hurd, spokesperson for Mass. Gov. Maura T. Healey, responded to PBN inquiries in part by pitching the Bay State as a more ideal place to do business.
“Massachusetts has so much to offer,” she said. “We’re ranked No. 1 for innovation, education and health care. We’re also ranked the best state to raise a family and for women. We are always competing for businesses to move and expand to our state and will continue to support existing businesses across Massachusetts.”
Rep. Leonela Felix, D-Pawtucket, whose district includes Hasbro's headquarters, said she was unaware that Hasbro was contemplating an exit and is now concerned with the local economic fallout were that to occur.
“It’s terrible,” she said. “They have been a crucial part in terms of our development and jobs. I know many folks who have worked for Hasbro for many years.”
However, though supportive of state incentives if they are mutually beneficial to both parties, Felix also speculated that Hasbro may be taking a cue from Citizens Bank, which made similar overtures last legislative session and ended up securing a tax break for financial institutions into state law.
Felix felt Citizens' threat to leave Rhode Island put a “chokehold" on state officials.
“It felt like a ransom. But in situations where we know it would be benefit to our communities, I would support it,” she said. “For Hasbro, given their track record, I would support [state incentives] because they have been so instrumental to our development.”
In a press release Tuesday, Rep. Karen Alzate, D-Pawtucket, called the news of Hasbro's potential departure "disappointing."
"The good they have done for the people of Pawtucket and the state is immeasurable," said Alzate, who also chairs the House Committee on Special Legislation. "I will enthusiastically work with all parties ... to ensure that Hasbro remains a loved and invaluable part of Pawtucket’s family for many more years to come."
According to the Pawtucket tax assessor’s database, Hasbro's two properties include its more than 300,000-square-foot facility at 1027 Newport Ave and a smaller 23,000-square foot-building at 1011 Newport Ave.
The respective buildings are listed under separate entities, with 1027 owned by “R.I. Industrial Facilites Corp. C/O Hasbro-Bradley” and 1011 by Hasbro Industries.
Requests for comment to McKee's office and to R.I. Commerce were not immediately returned.
Pawtucket Tax Assessor Robert Burns confirmed Tuesday that Hasbro filed suit against the city after being denied an appeal to the reevaluation of its property at 1027 Newport Ave., which increased from $18.5 million to $23.3 million. That case is pending (1011 is assessed at $2.2 million).
Burns said Hasbro’s 2023 tax bill for the properties was $504,606 and $47,375, respectively.
Hasbro did not immediately respond to a request to clarify whether the tax dispute played into its decision to consider an exodus.
Regardless, Burns hopes that Hasbro and the city are able to resolve the dispute.
“We've always been excellent partners with Hasbro,” he said. “They have always been great friends to the city.”
(MINOR edits throughout to tighten.)
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
Let them go! Rhode Island has been the best home Hasbro could have ever asked for. If they think the grass is greener on the other side, let them have at it. All they are trying to do is make their current losses in business the tax paying public’s problem instead of stepping up to the plate and changing management that drove them to this hole they are in.