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Fidelity Will Move 1,100 Jobs Out Of Mass.

Fidelity Investments plans to move more than 1,000 jobs out of Massachusetts, the Boston-based mutual fund announced Tuesday.

The financial services firm — the nation's second-largest mutual fund company — plans to close its Marlborough operations by the end of next year.

A Fidelity spokesman says the company will probably relocate some of the Marlborough jobs to Boston. But the vast majority will go to other states, including New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

"We have a smaller workforce than we had prior to the global economic crisis in 2008 and, as a result, have real estate space available in several of our sites," said Fidelity's Vincent Loporchio in a statement. "After evaluating our short- and long-term business and real estate needs, we determined that it made sense to focus and consolidate our New England workforce primarily in three locations — Boston, Smithfield, R.I., and Merrimack, N.H."

Loporchio said, "[s]ome Marlborough positions will be eliminated in this process."

Fidelity has eliminated more than 4,500 other jobs in Massachusetts in the past five years.

Company watcher Jim Lowell notes the mutual fund giant is consolidating away from a high-cost state.

"Fidelity is long on Yankee thrift," Lowell said, "and whenever they’re going to shave a penny, they’re going to do it.

"And in this case I don't think it could be any clearer. What they're looking to do is to take advantage of ... probably a far more friendly tax lay of the overall landscape, both in Rhode Island and across the highway over in New Hampshire."

The mutual fund market has been hit hard by the economy, with more unemployed people no longer contributing to their retirement plans.

This program aired on March 15, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

Headshot of Curt Nickisch

Curt Nickisch Business & Technology Reporter
Curt Nickisch was formerly WBUR's business and technology reporter.

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