The Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas is about to become the home base of yet another major corporation after Chicago-based Caterpillar announced plans to relocate its global headquarters out of Illinois.
Caterpillar already has a divisional office in Irving, a Dallas suburb, that will absorb the company's headquarters. This marks the second major corporation in the last month to flee Chicago, the other being Boeing Co.'s global headquarters.
According to CEO Jim Umpleby, moving Caterpillar from Illinois to Texas is "in the best strategic interest of the company." Since the 1960s, the heavy-machinery manufacturer has had a presence in Texas, and that presence is now expanding.
Even with the move, Illinois will still have the largest concentration of Caterpillar employees anywhere in the world. Before moving to the Chicago suburb of Deerfield in 2017, the company's corporate headquarters was downstate in Peoria.
Umpleby added that Caterpillar's corporate strategy includes "profitable growth" and helping customers "build a better, more sustainable world."
Company spokeswoman Kate Kenny added in a statement that the move will mean relocating a majority of the roughly 230 employees who are based at the mining and construction equipment-maker's Deerfield office.
The transition will begin this year, but based on the current leasing situation in Deerfield it will be tapered to "allow for an orderly and flexible transition for our employees," Kenny revealed, adding that company leaders will be working with each employee individually.
"The global competitive and market environments we face as a company are always changing, and we continuously evaluate and update our global footprint, including office locations, to best serve our business and talent needs," Kenny further said in an email to the Chicago Tribune.
As Chicago becomes increasingly unsafe and corrupt, more companies will flee
Chicago has rapidly become an unlivable, far-left hellhole, in many ways, which could explain why Caterpillar is moving its headquarters down south.
Public schoolchildren in the city who have dark skin are now being automatically awarded higher grades than children with light skin, all in an effort to pander to "Black Lives Matter" racism.
At one point, Chicago's leadership actually threatened to bulldoze churches for refusing to shut down during all the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) plandemic hysteria.
Gun-related violence, much of it gang related, is also rampant throughout Chicago, making it an unsafe place to do business.
Back in 2018, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., which was also based in Deerfield, announced the closure of its corporate headquarters as well. There appears to be a trend of companies packing up and leaving the Chicagoland in pursuit of greener pastures.
Other companies that have left Chicago and Deerfield in recent years include insurance giant Allstate and health care company Baxter.
"This is kind of how things are now," said Deerfield Mayor Daniel Shapiro.
"As we come out of the coronavirus pandemic, office demand is not what it was three years ago. People aren't going to offices as frequently, so this is kind of what the market is doing."
Caterpillar's departure will reportedly be stretched over two years, allowing time for new tenants to be found to occupy the 100,000-square-foot space, Shapiro added.
"The Dallas metroplex has really emerged as a premier corporate headquarters location, and Caterpillar has had a large presence in Texas for many years, both manufacturing and office operations," added John Boyd, principal of The Boyd Co., a national site selection firm, about how he is unsurprised that Caterpillar is moving to Texas.
According to Boyd, a lack of personal and corporate income taxes makes Texas a big draw, despite the state's through-the-roof property taxes.
More related news stories can be found at GreaterTexan.com.
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