Tag Archives: caterpillar

Plight of company towns: finding a new identity

Feb 23, 2017 | WLSAM Staff

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Company towns like Peoria, Illinois, have long relied on a major employer to provide generations of locals with jobs and give the cities their central identity.

Now many of those midsize communities are looking to redefine themselves as more companies trade longtime hometowns for major cities with easier access to global markets and the lifestyle that talented young workers want.

Caterpillar Inc.’s decision to move 300 top headquarters jobs to the Chicago area made Peoria the latest place with a vacuum to fill.

In 2014, Decatur, Illinois, lost Archer Daniels Midland to Chicago. ConAgra Foods moved 1,000 jobs last year from Omaha, Nebraska, to Chicago. Some companies also are leaving suburbs for downtowns, though suburban communities are still a popular choice.

 

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Caterpillar Relocating HQ To Chicago

Jan 31, 2017 | WLSAM Staff

By Nick Gale, WLS-AM 890 News

(CHICAGO) Caterpillar announced Tuesday that it will relocate it’s global headquarters from Peoria to the Chicago area.

While senior executives and support functions will move to the Chicago area later this year, the company says manufacturing will remain in Peoria and Central Illinois.

The Caterpillar CEO says in a statement that, “locating our headquarters closer to a global transportation hub, such as Chicago, means we can meet with our global customers, dealers and employees more easily and frequently.”

A limited number of senior executives will move into leased office space beginning in 2017. Once the new location is fully operational, Caterpillar expects about 300 employees to be based there, which includes some positions relocated from the Peoria area.

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