Officials in Connecticut believe executives at Aetna Inc. have already decided to move the company's headquarters out of Hartford, to a larger city.
The life and health insurer was founded in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1853, and it now has about 5,800 employees in the Hartford area.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said today in a statement that he believes, based on conversations with Aetna's executives, that the executives decided to move the headquarters out of Hartford a long time ago.
"They have said that Aetna remains committed to its Connecticut workforce, and that the Hartford campus will continue to be a substantial employment base for thousands of Aetna employees," Bronin said.
The Boston Business Journal reported in January, in an article that received little attention outside of Boston, that Aetna had been talking to Boston officials about the possibility of moving to the city since at least January 2016.
Aetna's Statement
Aetna put out a statement confirming that the company has been looking into moving its headquarters.
"We are in negotiations with several states regarding a headquarters relocation, with the goal of broadening our access to innovation and the talent that will fill knowledge economy-type positions," Aetna said in the statement, which was released today.