Hasbro gives 587 Pawtucket employees till Dec. 24 to agree to Boston move or face job loss

Nearly 600 Hasbro workers currently based in Pawtucket will have to report to the company’s new Boston headquarters in January or else lose their jobs, according to an Oct. 8 notice filed with the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.

The toy and gaming empire’s relocation across state lines has been in the works for more than a year. But Hasbro executives had provided few details after outlining a broad schedule for completing the move by the end of the calendar year, and listing the Newport Avenue headquarters for sale sometime after that.

The email notice from Holly Barbacovi, Hasbro’s chief people officer, offers two concrete dates: Dec. 24, 2026, will be the last day that 587 workers will work at their jobs in Pawtucket, and then they will start in Boston on Jan. 4, 2027.

Workers who choose not to move will lose their jobs as of Dec. 24. As of the email, Hasbro had not confirmed how many of its workers planned to accept the relocation offer, Barbacovi said.

Affected employees represent a wide range of positions, from a single intern, a clerk and a carpenter to dozens of senior and management roles in marketing, finance, product development and engineering.

Abby Hodes, a Hasbro spokesperson, said the notice filed with state officials is not a layoff notice, describing it as a “formality” under already public relocation plans. 

Under federal law, employers with more than 100 full-time workers have to give at least 60 days of notice before mass layoffs or facility closings.

“We communicated the move to employees on September 1, 2025 and have been providing support throughout the transition,” Hodes said in an email Tuesday.

The loss of one of the state’s top employers led many candidates for state and local office to bemoan Rhode Island’s lack of incentives and resources to attract business and grow jobs. 

Originally begun more than 100 years ago as a family-owned pencil box maker in Providence, Hasbro has grown to a 4,500-person, international public company with an $11 million operating profit for 2025. At the time it announced the move in September 2025, Hasbro employed 1,000 people in Rhode Island.

Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien, who lost his reelection bid to Democratic primary challenger Adam Greenman, criticized the company for failing to communicate with its host city.

“Hasbro has an obligation to engage with the community that has supported it for generations,” Grebien said in a statement on Tuesday. “I strongly urge the company to meet with both my administration and the incoming administration to discuss the transition, the impact on its employees, and the future of its Pawtucket property. Pawtucket deserves that conversation, and we expect Hasbro to come to the table.”

Jennifer Almeida, a spokesperson for Grebien’s office, said in a follow-up email that the city wants a “meaningful conversation” about the transition, including more details on what happens with the circa 1900 industrial building when Hasbro moves out.

“While we recognize that Hasbro has decided to relocate, that does not eliminate its responsibility to engage with the community it has called home for decades,” Almeida said. “We expect a productive, transparent conversation about the transition and the future of this property.”

She did not say when the city was last in communication with or contacted Hasbro.

Hodes did not provide a response to Grebien’s statement.