Georgia is on the short list of candidates pitching General Electric to move its headquarters from Fairfield, Connecticut.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports a team from Georgia met with GE reps last week to tout Atlanta as a potential new corporate home. Other suitors reportedly include North Carolina, Florida, New York and Texas.
An exploratory committee from GE will whittle the list down to its final group. At that point, GE will start touring likely sites in the states chosen for their relocation possibilities.
Georgia officials are reluctant to get into any detail about its pitch at this point. "One of the things I've done is not comment on any specifics of the project," Chris Carr of the Georgia Department of Economic Development tells the Business Chronicle. "Once you do, it's a slippery slope."
Analysts weighing the advantages of metro Atlanta as the new GE headquarters point to Georgia's business climate, the proximity of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and access to the engineering talent pool at Georgia Tech.
General Electric started this process after Connecticut's legislature approved significantly higher taxes on businesses in the state. At that time, GE CEO Jeff Immelt told employees he was seriously evaluating moving to a state with a "more pro-business environment."
GE already has ties to the metro area. GE Energy Management is based in Cobb County.
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