Mayor, executives brainstorm job growth

Mayor Thomas M. Menino has led a series of meetings with some of the city's A-list business leaders to figure out how to retain and increase employment in the wake of high-profile takeovers of Boston companies and significant relocations by others.

During a session this month at the Parkman House, Menino's business residence on Beacon Hill, the group filled six easels with ideas about how to attract and keep more jobs, such as an advertising campaign extolling Boston's business advantages, said Marsh Carter, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and former chief executive of Boston's State Street Corp. Among others attending that meeting were David D'Alessandro, former chief executive of John Hancock Financial Services Inc., and real estate developer Joseph F. Fallon, head of Fallon Co.

''The most important thing to do is figure out to how to attract jobs and businesses today," Menino said.

A catalyst for the effort was Fidelity Investment's disclosure in January that it plans to move as many as 1,500 workers out of Massachusetts by 2008, partly because of alluring tax benefits in Rhode Island. Hundreds of those people now work in downtown Boston, which is already reeling from moves like the 900 jobs that Teradyne Inc. will shift to North Reading and the 1,100 jobs in Downtown Crossing to be shed because of the closing of Filene by Federated Department Stores Inc. as part of a merger.

In addition, city and business leaders worry that the spate of name-brand takeovers -- Procter & Gamble Co. of Cincinnati buying Gillette Co.; Bank of America Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., buying FleetBoston Financial Corp., and Manulife Financial Corp. of Toronto buying John Hancock -- will also hurt the city's economy.

''You read and see all these mergers and think Boston is washed up. The fact is, this place has a tremendous amount to offer," Carter said.

The meetings at this stage are informal. The business leaders cited a usual litany of local challenges: high costs for housing and wages, and painfully slow regulators.

Menino said some decisions to move were based at least partly on reasons the city can't control, such as the shifting of jobs by Fidelity to Rhode Island.

''I do not think it's a wake-up call; it's a business decision to diversify their employees because of the new world we live in," he said. ''But I want to make sure if there's any growth that Fidelity has, that some of that comes in the city. I'm not looking just to not lose, I want to grow."

D'Alessandro said he suggested encouraging universities and hospitals to include housing for employees as part of their expansions, which would both improve the housing supply and create property tax revenue for the city to make up for taxes that can't be collected from the nonprofit institutions. Also, corporate leaders should work their international connections to lure foreign investment. ''There are some very creative ideas being driven here. The mayor is recognizing this isn't a single problem," he said.

Menino has also spoken with Peter Meade, executive vice president of health insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts and chairman of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. Meade urged faster turnaround on regulatory decisions like building permits. ''We're much too casual about how we retain and attract businesses," Meade said. ''For two and a half centuries we've relied on Harvard and MIT to bring us jobs."

Menino said it was too soon to discuss what ideas he'll pursue most aggressively, and he hesitated about embracing tax breaks to stimulate job growth. Where other states have, Menino said, ''In the long run that's not a security blanket for them."

He said the city needs to step up in the absence of federal or state initiatives. ''The problem I have is, there's no jobs plan by anybody, neither federal nor state. We have these transient ideas, but nothing happens," Menino said. ''We've got to get serious about creating economic plans."

Also contacted by Menino was Edward H. Linde, chief executive of real estate trust Boston Properties Inc., one of the city's largest commercial property owners. ''The very act of the mayor reaching out to the business leaders is a positive thing. Often business leaders are apprehensive about politicians, and I think it's the start of a continuing dialogue," he said.

''My business is to supply space, and to me it's a body blow whenever an important company moves jobs out of the city and out of the state," Linde said.

On balance, Menino said, the city's new core sector strengths include education, healthcare, financial institutions, and technology, including the growing life-sciences sector. ''We're one of the few cities that has several economies," he said, adding: ''We shouldn't be allowing Raleigh, N.C., to steal our workforce."

Ross Kerber can be reached at kerber@globe.com.