Aetna Won't Move Its Headquarters To NYC After All

Update, 12 January:

CVS says that Aetna's headquarters won't be moving to Chelsea, months after NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio touted the move as one that would bring new, good-paying jobs to the city.

CVS said on Friday that it has "no plans" to move Aetna's headquarters from Hartford, Connecticut, the company said in a statement.

CVS announced its plans to buy Aetna last year.

Original story:

CHELSEA, NY — New York City is backtracking on a $9.6 million incentive package it offered to Aetna to get the health insurance giant to move its headquarters to city, the Associated Press reported.

In June, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the company would move its headquarters from Hartford, Connecticut to Chelsea, bringing with it 250 new jobs and a $146 million in economic benefit to the city.

This week, city officials said the deal was halted after CVS announced plans to buy Aetna in December.

"We had a preliminary agreement that still needed formal approval, and we can't get that approval if they can't positively affirm to us that the relocation is happening," said Stephanie Baez, a spokeswoman for the New York City Economic Development Corp, told the Associated Press. "They can always come back to us once they've made the decision."

Aetna spokesman T.J. Crawford did not comment on the deal to the Hartford Courant, but said all of the business' locations "will be evaluated during the integration planning process."

The company's move had been expected to be completed by the end of 2018. Aetna was planning on moving into a new building being built at 61 Ninth Ave., near Chelsea Market and Google's New York campus.

This story was updated on Jan. 12 with new information.

Image credit: Rendering of Aetna's planned headquarters courtesy of the NYC Economic Development Corporation