"By third quarter, we'll be out of that building, and move into more modest former Otis headquarters in Farmington."
Akil Johri
United Technologies will move from its long-time Hartford headquarters to another office in Farmington. The move is aimed at saving $100 million in overhead cost.
In New York for an extensive analysts conference, UTC executives went through almost four hours of presentations Thursday before Chief Financial Officer Akil Johri casually dropped his bombshell, as he was listing the measures the company's taking to contain costs. "One of the other things we are going to do is to move out of our iconic residence in Gold Building in Hartford," he said. "By third quarter, we’ll be out of that building, and move into more modest former Otis headquarters in Farmington."
In fact, the industrial conglomerate has been quietly moving staff to Farmington over the course of the last few years. Around 175 remain the Gold Building, but they’ll follow by the fall.
Mayor of Hartford Pedro Segarra said in a statement he’s disappointed by the decision, but he said “the number of businesses coming into Hartford far outweighs the number of businesses leaving.”
The news comes just a day after UTC formally announced it was mulling options for Sikorsky — something that’s long been rumored about the Stratford helicopter maker.
Sikorsky President Mick Maurer put a brave face on the situation, saying the exploration of a sale or spinoff would not be a distraction for the business. "The vast majority of people in the company day-to-day are going to be completely unaffected," he said. "If you’re building helicopters, if you’re designing helicopters, if you’re in supply management; the contracts don’t change; the requirements don’t change; the focus doesn’t change."
Both of these high-profile changes show new CEO Greg Hayes putting his own stamp on United Technologies in a tenure that already looks like it will be markedly different from those of his predecessors.
