587 Hasbro Workers in Rhode Island Face Losing Their Jobs on December 24 Unless They Move to Boston

Hasbro filed a notice under the federal WARN Act on Oct. 8, indicating 587 positions will be affected come Dec. 24, and each of those workers was offered the opportunity to keep their jobs at the new location beginning on Jan. 4, 2027. For workers who do not complete the transfer, employment is expected to end on Dec. 24, 2026, or during the 14-day period beginning on that date. Hasbro describes the filing as one that does not represent a new announcement or layoff notice. For Metaintro readers who work at the Pawtucket campus, or who are weighing an offer that comes with a move attached, this guide covers what the notice contains, why the coverage split between layoff and relocation, what federal rules say about transfers and Rhode Island rules say about unemployment, and what one open Boston listing asks for.

What Does the Hasbro WARN Notice Actually Say?

The notice went to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training and to Pawtucket's mayor. It was submitted on Oct. 8, indicating 587 positions will be affected come Dec. 24, and it was written as a letter from Holly Barbacovi, Hasbro’s chief people officer, to the state and to Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien.

Hasbro has offered approximately 587 current employees at its Rhode Island worksites continued employment at its new Boston headquarters as part of a permanent relocation. Employees who accept are not expected to experience an interruption in employment.

For staff who transfer, their last day working in Pawtucket will be Thursday, Dec. 24, before the holiday shutdown, and they will resume work Monday, Jan. 4, 2027, with no anticipated interruption. The Jan. 4 start is the same date that operations are slated to begin at Hasbro's new 400 Summer St. location in Boston.

For those who stay behind, the letter sets the end date. For any employee who does not complete the transfer, that employee’s employment is expected to end on Dec. 24, 2026, or during the 14-day period beginning on that date.

Because the company is unable to confirm at this time which employees will accept the relocation offer, this notice is being provided to all affected employees out of an abundance of caution, Hasbro chief people officer Holly Barbacovi wrote, according to the Boston Globe report.

Which Jobs Are on the List?

Affected job titles include anyone from account analysts to senior IT managers, a VP of finance, paralegals, and managers, among other roles.

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.

The work site is 1027 Newport Ave. in Pawtucket, where employee assignments are expected to end on Dec. 24.

Is This a Layoff or a Relocation?

Hasbro's answer is relocation. Spokesperson Abby Hodes called the WARN filing "a formal notice of our move to Boston", and described the notice as a "formality" under already public relocation plans. Hasbro says it communicated the move to employees on Sept. 1, 2025 and has been providing support throughout the transition.

The headlines did not agree on what to call it.

• The first state listing used the layoff label. The WARN filing notice was originally inaccurately listed on the RI DLT’s report as a layoff, as an editor's note on the corrected WPRI story put it, and the corrected story says 587 employees were told their positions were being transferred to the new location in Boston.
• Layoff framing stayed in some coverage, with one broadcast story saying the company plans to lay off 587 employees by the end of the year, while the same page reports that all positions affected were offered another position in Boston.
• A plant closure label also appeared, in a story describing a "plant closure" impacting 587 employees in Rhode Island, and saying the effective date will be December 24, with the plant closing in Pawtucket.
• Other headlines framed it as a choice, such as Hasbro gives 587 Pawtucket employees till Dec. 24 to agree to Boston move or face job loss in the Rhode Island Current, and another story warning that nearly 600 Hasbro employees could lose their jobs on Dec. 24 if they decline to move.

Why File a WARN Notice If Everyone Got a Job Offer?

Hasbro's own reason for notifying everyone is that it is unable to confirm at this time which employees will accept the relocation offer. The federal WARN rules also explain when a transfer offer counts as a job loss. The WARN Act is a federal law requiring employers of 100 or more full-time workers to give 60-days advance notice of a plant closing or mass layoff, and the DLT's WARN page lists the closings and layoffs that trigger it.

A transfer offer does not always remove the job loss. The Labor Department's worker guide to WARN sets out the full transfer rule, including how commuting distance, the time you take to accept and the reason for the transfer affect whether you count as having lost your job.

What counts as a reasonable commute will vary with local and industry conditions, and the test looks at geographic accessibility of the place of work, the quality of the roads, customarily available transportation, and the usual travel time, and the starting point for determining whether a commuting distance is reasonable is your home, not where you work.

The rules also explain the two-week window. An employer may give you notice that you will be separated within a two-week, or 14-day, period after a certain date, and if it uses that window it must give you notice 60 days before the first day of the 14-day period.

How Does 587 Compare With the 700 Boston Headcount Plan?

On Sep. 8, 2025, Hasbro put the Boston headcount plan on record, saying the space will be home to at least 700 full-time employees expected to transition from Rhode Island to Boston by the end of 2026.

Hodes said the 700 figure includes new hires as well as employees who are already working in a temporary office. Hasbro employed 1,000 people in Rhode Island when the move was made public in September 2025.

In early December 2025, more than a dozen of the company’s 170 current job listings were specifically tied to its temporary Boston office, and a hiring push for the Boston office began in September of that year. No split between transfers and new hires was given in the spokesperson's comments.

What Is Waiting in Boston?

The new headquarters is at 400 Summer Street in Boston’s Seaport District, where Hasbro will occupy seven floors across 265,000 square feet in a building developed and owned by WS Development. It will be the primary headquarters for Hasbro’s toys, board games, and licensing businesses, and a majority of its corporate services.

Massachusetts' Economic Assistance Coordinating Council approved $14 million in EDIP tax credits for a project in which Hasbro will invest $25 million in the project and create 700 jobs in Massachusetts. The move would make Hasbro eligible for tax credits of $20,000 per job relocated to Massachusetts, with state officials saying they had been in talks with Hasbro since early 2024.

Hasbro expects to vacate its corporate headquarters in the fourth quarter of 2026, and it plans on selling both properties after the transition to the new headquarters is complete, meaning its current headquarters, as well as an adjacent building along Newport Avenue, according to its SEC filing as reported by WPRI.

What Does One Open Boston Listing Ask For and Pay?

Open roles are posted on the Hasbro job board, where many current listings carry a Boston, Massachusetts location.

One open listing, an Account Analyst role in Boston, posts a pay range of $64,400 - $96,600 USD for that role, and says the hiring range will vary based on factors such as experience, skills, location and market conditions. That range is for this one opening, not the pay offered to transferring Pawtucket staff, which has not been published in the coverage linked above. The listing's full qualifications are on the posting itself.

The schedule detail on that listing matters for anyone doing the commute math. The role will be onsite Tuesday to Thursday at Hasbro’s new HQ location in Boston, MA from the date the new location opens, and in the interim it is onsite on those days at Hasbro’s HQ in Pawtucket, RI or at Hasbro’s temporary location in Boston, MA. That is the pattern for this one role, so ask your manager what applies to yours.

What Are Pawtucket Leaders Saying?

Grebien said it is "deeply disappointing that the company continues to remain silent and unresponsive to outreach from my administration and state officials", and he urged Hasbro "to meet with both my administration and the incoming administration" about the transition and the property.

Grebien lost his reelection bid to Democratic primary challenger Adam Greenman, who said he recently met with Hasbro representatives to discuss the future of the company’s Pawtucket property and called the departure another body blow to the city. Greenman said his focus includes the Rhode Island employees that may choose not to move to Boston with the company.

Hasbro has been part of Pawtucket for more than a century, and its departure has significant implications for the employees and our city, Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien said in a statement, according to the WJAR station story.

What Help Is Available for Workers Who Do Not Move?

The DLT will be offering career services and resources to help employees get through this transition, and in November it will also hold another "major" job fair. The department's contact for WARN notices is Anthony Ward-Smith, Employment & Training Administrator, and the USDOL is responsible for enforcement of the federal law.

Rhode Island's unemployment insurance FAQ sets out in full when quitting a job or refusing a suitable job offer can lead to a denial of benefits. A separation for a reason such as voluntary leaving triggers a fact-finding adjudication interview, and you may also need one if you refused an offer of work. DLT will let you know for sure whether you qualify once you apply, and there’s no penalty for applying.

No severance terms appear in the letter excerpts carried in the Globe's account of the notice or the Rhode Island Current story. If you do receive severance, you will have your payment delayed by the number of weeks of severance pay received from your employer. Any severance pay received will be allocated on a weekly basis from your last day of work for a period not to exceed 26 weeks, and you will be eligible for a partial payment if your weekly severance amount is less than your benefit rate.

What This Means for Hasbro Workers, and What Should You Do Next?

Hasbro had not confirmed how many of its workers planned to accept the relocation offer when the notice went out, and the company has not confirmed how many employees plan to accept the offer. So plan around the Dec. 24 date in the WARN letter.

• Get the offer terms in writing. Ask HR for your Boston title, pay, onsite days and start date. The one Boston listing reviewed above, the Account Analyst role, sets Tuesday to Thursday as onsite days, so check your own role's pattern before you decide. Before you reply, read How to Negotiate a Job Offer After You Have It in Writing.
• Run your commute from home. The federal starting point for judging a reasonable commute is your home, not where you work, so time the trip from your own door to 400 Summer Street.
• Ask about severance before you decline. No terms are public in the coverage linked above, so ask HR directly and keep the answer in writing.
• Use the state's services early. Check the DLT's WARN page for the department's contacts, ask about the career services and resources it is offering, and watch for the November job fair.
• File for unemployment if your job ends. Apply through the DLT unemployment page and let the state decide eligibility.

Hasbro is not the only employer to tie jobs to a move, as Marvel's offer to comics staff to follow their jobs to California and the Starbucks move to Nashville show.

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People Also Asked

Q: Is Hasbro laying off 587 workers in Rhode Island?

A: Not exactly, because all 587 were offered Boston jobs, and Hasbro says the notice does not represent a new announcement or layoff notice. For workers who do not complete the transfer, employment is expected to end on Dec. 24, 2026, or during the 14-day period beginning on that date.

Q: When do Hasbro workers start at the Boston headquarters?

A: Workers who transfer will resume work Monday, Jan. 4, 2027, after their last day in Pawtucket on Thursday, Dec. 24.

Q: Has Hasbro said how many workers accepted the move?

A: No, the company did not give a number of who accepted and who declined, and no severance terms appear in the Globe's account of the notice.

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