In a psychic blow that will take hundreds of jobs out of Rhode Island, the iconic toymaker Hasbro announced plans Monday to relocate its longtime headquarters from Pawtucket to Boston’s Seaport District.
Hasbro hailed the change as “a new era of play” and said seven floors in the new office “will house teams that power some of the world’s most iconic brands, occupying seven floors across 265,000 square feet. The new space will be home to at least 700 full-time employees expected to transition from Rhode Island to Boston by the end of 2026.”
The announcement, however, marks the realization of the worst fears for Rhode Island after state officials were surprised when word emerged last September that Hasbro — founded in Providence in the early 1920s — was considering leaving its longtime home in Pawtucket.
House Speaker Joe Shekarchi, a potential candidate for governor, and RI Senate President Val Lawson were the first Rhode Island elected officials to respond with a statement.
“The decision by Hasbro’s new corporate leadership to transition operations outside of Rhode Island is very disappointing,” they said. “For decades, the Hassenfeld family created and ran a world-class global company, while giving back to the Rhode Island community through a strong commitment to philanthropy.”
Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien also expressed disappointment in the news.
“While this decision was ultimately beyond our control, it is disheartening to see a company so deeply rooted in our community choose to turn its back on that history,” Grebien said in a statement. “This is a painful reality for the people of Pawtucket, who stood by Hasbro for over a century. We also empathize with the employees of Hasbro whose lives will be forever impacted by this decision.”
The longtime Pawtucket mayor said the city assembled what he called a bold and comprehensive offer to keep Hasbro in Rhode Island. Now, he said, the city will turn its attention to seek a new use for the space on Newport Avenue being vacated by Hasbro.
RI House GOP Leader Michael Chippendale (R-Foster) said Hasbro’s exit reflects a failure of leadership in the state.
“Once again, Rhode Island is left watching a major legacy company leave our state despite costly efforts to lure and retain businesses with taxpayer-funded incentive packages,” he said. “This cycle repeats itself because our leaders fail to focus on improving our dismal, bottom-ranking business climate. Instead, we continue to try to compete in niche sector arenas where we cannot win against our larger neighbors, like Massachusetts.
But Gov. Dan McKee said the state has had positive growth since he took office in 2021.
“Under my administration, we’ve created more than 36,000 private sector jobs—an 8.8 percent increase—and over 6 million square feet of new development in Quonset, the I-195 Redevelopment District, and Amazon alone,” McKee said. “We continue to attract and grow companies in innovative industries like ocean technology, life sciences, offshore wind, defense, cybersecurity, AI, logistics, and more.”
Last November, the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission approved a binding resolution offering Hasbro an acre of riverfront property for $1.
At the time, a spokeswoman for Gov. Dan McKee said, “We made a strong case to Hasbro highlighting the many reasons they should remain at home right here in Rhode Island.”
Hasbro said moving to Boston’s Seaport District “positions the company to accelerate innovation, attract top talent, and drive long-term growth in line with Hasbro’s Playing to Win strategy which emphasizes play-driven engagement and collaboration with partners.”
The news was hailed by Bay State elected officials, who were quoted in Hasbro’s news release.
“We are thrilled that Hasbro has chosen Massachusetts as the home of its new headquarters, and we’re ready to support the hundreds of jobs they will create here,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said. “We’re proud to welcome this iconic company to Team Massachusetts — where we are number one for education, health care and innovation. I’m grateful for the leadership of Chris Cocks and his team at Hasbro, and for the hard work of my economic development team that helped make this possible.”
Hasbro said it still has strong ties to Rhode Island.
“In 2024 alone, Hasbro contributed over $1 million in product and in-kind donations to local Rhode Island organizations, including long-standing partners like Hasbro Children’s Hospital and the Rhode Island Special Olympics,” the company said. “The company plans to continue to support Hasbro Children’s Hospital with annual donations and will keep recruiting from Rhode Island’s colleges and universities—honoring the legacy of the Hassenfeld family’s deep roots in the state. For more than a century, Hasbro has grown alongside the community, and that commitment continues today.
But for a state that has struggled for decades to build a stronger economy, the loss of one of its largest corporations is a tough blow.
In their statement, Shekarchi and Lawson said, “We will continue bringing people together and working hard to attract new businesses to invest in Rhode Island and maintain our ongoing dialogue with existing businesses in the state to expand and grow.”
This story has been updated with additional reaction.
