Subway shows corporate America values state
Hosting corporate headquarters is one of Connecticut’s biggest business success stories. We’re a small state, but an outsized share of large companies make their homes here. It’s not hard to understand, what with the easy access to New York City in our southwestern corner. Though Connecticut lacks a major metropolis of our own, the state offers the quality of life and proximity to large cities that companies seek out. The Greenwich-to-Norwalk corridor, especially, has long been a prime landing spot for companies with a wide reach.
Some businesses have a long history here. Sikorsky Aircraft, for instance, has been in Connecticut for nearly a century, supporting a workforce with thousands of people as it has moved between various owners. Had Igor Sikorsky found a different landing spot all those years ago, the Connecticut economy might today look very different.
The company with the widest reach, though, might be Subway. What started as one sandwich shop in Bridgeport has turned into a fast-food franchise with tens of thousands of locations in dozens of countries. Long headquartered in Milford, Subway is a part of the Connecticut fabric, with its city even renaming its home street — Sub Way.
News, then, that Subway was moving could have set off shockwaves. When General Electric left its longtime home in Fairfield in 2016, it set off recriminations over the state’s supposed antibusiness policies driving jobs away. (The fact that GE left for another highly taxed state in Massachusetts did little to quiet critics.)
The Subway news, however, turns out to be not so troubling, after all. The company is apparently moving just a few miles away, to Shelton. That’s good news for Connecticut, certainly, but also for everyone who works at the headquarters and will be able to keep their jobs without moving.
If there’s a note of concern, it’s that the company is now listing Connecticut and Miami, where its CEO lives, as “dual headquarters.” The good news is that the bulk of top corporate jobs remain in Connecticut. There’s a concern that more of those positions could be headed south in years to come, but for now, investing in a new location in Shelton appears to be a positive sign for this state.
It comes at a time when the lure of Connecticut continues to attract other multinational companies. Philip Morris International, which sells cigarettes overseas and is making a big push into “noncombustible” tobacco products, is moving to Stamford from its home in New York. At the same time, the financial sector remains a huge draw in Greenwich and Stamford, with a number of large companies calling those communities home.
Connecticut leaders have long pressed for policies that would keep such companies happy, including improved train service into New York City. A faster ride on the rails would make a move into Fairfield County that much more appealing for companies based in New York, which is why such a goal remains atop state government’s wish list.
But even under current conditions, the evidence shows there’s something Connecticut is doing right in attracting large companies. There’s more to be done (there’s always more to be done), but corporate America’s embrace of our state is something worth building on.
The company is apparently moving just a few miles away, to Shelton. That’s good news for Connecticut, certainly, but also for everyone who works at the headquarters and will be able to keep their jobs without moving.