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New US Lego factory raises concerns about North American HQ

ENFIELD, Conn. (AP) — Lego Group’s recent announcement that it will build a new factory in Virginia has focused attention on the company’s North American headquarters in Connecticut, with some industry watchers saying it may not be a good sign for the company’s future in the state.

The Denmark-based global toymaker announced last week it plans to invest more than $1 billion to build a factory in suburban Richmond, to open in 2025. The facility will be the company’s seventh globally and its first in the U.S.

A company spokesperson said the decision would have no impact on the size and scope of the Enfield headquarters, and a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont told Hearst Connecticut Media that Lego’s senior leadership had affirmed its commitment to keep the office in the state.

“It is commonplace for corporations to invest and expand in multiple states — and they do so for a wide variety of strategic reasons,” Max Reiss told the news outlet. “Lego has been and continues to be a fantastic partner with our state and we look forward to strengthening this relationship now and into the future.”

Still, the development raises the question of whether the headquarters might eventually move to Virginia, Fred Carstensen, a professor of finance and economics at the University of Connecticut, told Hearst.

“They better be worried,” Carstensen said of state officials. “Physical proximity of a headquarters to manufacturing facilities is definitely a factor companies consider.”

A number of factors could have persuaded the company to locate the factory elsewhere, said Donald Klepper-Smith, an economist with DataCore Partners.

“Economic development these days speaks to cost structures,” Klepper-Smith told Hearst. “Forty percent of your long term job growth is a function of the cost of doing business. And when it comes to Connecticut, businesses are being incentivized to look elsewhere.”

Oil prices slip and Asian shares are mostly lower as investors sell chipmaker stocks

HONG KONG (AP) — Oil prices fell Wednesday and Asian shares were mostly trading lower as South Korea’s Kospi extended its losses after falling more than 16% over the past two days. Crude prices remain volatile after the U.S. said early Thursday it had conducted a “heavy wave” of strikes against Iran, responding to an attack on a U.S. base. U.S. futures edged higher after losses on Wall Street. In South Korea, recent drops in its benchmark Kospi, a big beneficiary of the global boom in artificial intelligence, have been seen by some analysts as a reflection of broader doubts about massive investments by technology giants in expanding capacity for AI.
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