SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. announced Thursday that it is expanding its business in Massachusetts and closing a large office in Connecticut.
MassMutual said it plans to spend nearly $300 million in Massachusetts over the next several years and increase its workforce in the state by approximately 70 percent by the end of 2021.
The company said that will mean increasing the number of positions in Springfield from about 3,000 to 4,500 and adding another 1,000 jobs at a new facility in Boston.
The company said it will close its offices in Enfield, Connecticut, by 2021, moving most of those 1,500 workers to Springfield.
A spokesman said it did not make sense to have two offices, each 60 percent full, less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from each other.
“Following a thorough strategic assessment of our operations and footprint, we concluded that our home state of Massachusetts is the best place for us to grow and thrive over the long term,” said Roger Crandall, the company’s chief executive. “We have deep roots and a supportive community in our hometown of Springfield, and we will continue to invest and grow our workforce in the city.”
In 2014, Democratic Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced MassMutual was “strengthening its presence” in Connecticut by opening a new world headquarters for its retirement division in Enfield. At the time, he noted the insurer was eligible for up $13 million in state tax credits over 10 years as part of the expansion project.
Connecticut House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, a Republican from Derby, said MassMutual’s relocation makes her question Connecticut’s economic development policies, noting General Electric’s recent decision to move its headquarters from Fairfield to Boston.
“Moving 1,500 jobs from Enfield to Springfield may not dislocate a lot of workers because the two sites are 8 miles (12 kilometers) apart,” she said. “But Connecticut will lose corporate revenue and we continue to see big employers looking elsewhere to call home.”
The company said it plans to spend about $50 million upgrading its Springfield headquarters and another $240 million on the campus in Boston’s Seaport District.
That multistory office, on Fan Pier initially will have 500 employees, but will grow to 1,000, the company said. The 300,000-square-foot (27,870-square-meter) facility will be built on an undeveloped parcel owned by MassMutual, with MassMutual as its primary tenant, the company said.
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