Hasbro moving to Boston: Toymaker leaves Rhode Island after over 100 years

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Iconic Rhode Island toymaker Hasbro announced Monday it will be moving its headquarters to Boston, ending more than a century in Pawtucket and delivering a major blow to the state’s business community.

The company said it will move at least 700 full-time employees from Rhode Island to Boston by the end of next year, leasing 265,000 square feet across seven floors at 400 Summer St. in the Seaport. Once complete, Hasbro will no longer have a corporate presence in Rhode Island.

“We are thrilled that Hasbro has chosen Massachusetts as the home of its new headquarters, and we’re ready to support the hundreds of jobs they will create here,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. “We’re proud to welcome this iconic company to Team Massachusetts — where we are number one for education, health care and innovation.”

Healey and other Massachusetts leaders had lobbied aggressively for Hasbro and its $11.2 billion market cap. Rhode Island officials, meanwhile, had been bracing for the loss since news of a possible move surfaced nearly a year ago.

Gov. Dan McKee, who said he hasn’t spoken with CEO Chris Cocks since the July 9 death of former Hasbro chief Alan Hassenfeld, expressed disappointment Friday. “We’ve done everything we can to keep them here,” McKee said. “If they decide to leave, you know, we’ll wish them well.”

Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien said city officials never received a response to a July letter making one last pitch for Hasbro to stay.

This move comes after Rhode Island’s business ranking fell in CNBC’s “Top States for Business” rankings, landing at #46 overall, tied with Louisiana, in the 2025 report released back in July.