Hasbro Inc. officially became a symbol of Rhode Island’s past when it announced plans to move to Boston by the end of next year.
There’s plenty of shared blame – from a company that showed little public interest in staying, to state leaders who perhaps took a major employer for granted until it was too late.
The most damning sign of a fractured relationship? Not a single Hasbro job is scheduled to be left in Rhode Island, more than a century after the company was founded in Providence.
It would have been easy to keep a satellite operation in Rhode Island, a short drive from the new Boston headquarters.
Instead, Hasbro put out a statement that its R.I. ties will remain strong due to continued financial support of Hasbro Children’s Hospital.
But the more than 700 jobs leaving will mean a weaker state economy.
Ocean State leaders must quickly lick their wounds and begin developing a shared vision for an economy that more employers want to be a part of, rather than move away from.