Motorola Solutions, after around 50 years of staying in Schaumburg, will be relocating its headquarters to Chicago. The company that is going back to its hometown is reportedly aiming for larger access to a new breed of talents.
Motorola will be sending 800 jobs along with its operations to downtown Chicago next summer. 1,600 employees, mostly software and hardware engineers, will still be working in Schaumburg, the Daily Herald reported.
The company was founded there in 1928, and by the next summer, 500 West Monroe Street will become its new home office, according to the Northern Public Radio. Many are curious as to why would the company would go back there knowing the city's financial situation.
"While there are fiscal challenges that confront every major city, we look for the long term return on invested capital. Not just capital deployment for infrastructure but access to capital in terms of the pool of talent," Motorola Chairman and CEO Greg Brown said.
The move, according to Brown, will give them the opportunity to gain greater access to talent, which includes software developers, data scientists and user-experience and interface designers, Washington Times has learned.
He added that the company will be needing these talents for the future they are building in Chicago.
Tama McWhinney, the company's spokeswoman, reportedly said that the 227-acre campus will be sold for redevelopment. Motorola Solutions is planning to lease those two buildings from the new owner.
Meanwhile, 200 employees from the company's manufacturing and delivery operations will be moved to Elgin, and according to reports, there are possibilities that the company will hire an additional 200 workers.
This move will be a victory for the Chamber of Commerce in Elgin, but how does this impact Schaumburg?
"Schaumburg isn't falling apart," Mayor Al Larson said. "We have a great town."
The move of Motorola will apparently give the town the opportunity to redevelop a prime real estate.
