Fidelity recently announced it will be closing its Marlborough location over the next 2 years and relocating 1,100 employees to the remaining 3 regional locations in downtown Boston, Smithfield, RI and Merrimac, NH.  The company’s staff has been reduced significantly over the past few years and this decision was made as part of the company’s worldwide reductions during the recent global economic crisis.

What is interesting to me has been the immediate reaction in the press. For the most part, the story has been about Fidelity’s “ingratitude” and the need for the state to punish the company for making such a decision. 

Fidelity still remains one of the largest employers in the Commonwealth with thousands of workers. They, unlike many Fortune 500 firms, maintain their headquarters here. 

What we have is a global company that makes a business decision to relocate some of its employees and to close a regional office. Shouldn’t we be asking what we can do to make us more competitive?  

Beating up on an employer and an industry is probably not the best way to keep them here over the long term. Let’s do a better job at listening to our employers and understanding their problems, before they become ours.