Motorola Solutions has just announced that it will be closing its headquarters in suburban Schaumburg and relocating into the city of Chicago by next summer, according to a joint statement from Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office and Motorola officials released on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
The Chicago Tribune recently reported that the company, a leading supplier in communications devices for government workers and first responders, will be moving 800 jobs from its Schaumburg location into the city, along with its major headquarters operations.
Motorola Solutions has been located in Schaumburg for over 50 years, the Chicago Daily Herald reported, after it acquired a 316-acre farm from the Freise family in 1964 and began building facilities for manufacturing and administrative operations.
The Schaumburg campus now spans 277 acres and, at the height of Motorola’s success, employed thousands of local workers. Motorola intends to sell the campus and lease two buildings from the new owners, spokeswoman Tama McWhinney said. It will consolidate space but will still keep about 1,600 jobs in Schaumburg.
ABC News stated that the new headquarters will be in a 150,000-square-foot space, taking up six floors in a building located at 500 W. Monroe St. in the West Loop neighborhood. The company will have approximately 1,100 employees in the city when the move is complete.
As the Tribune noted, the company’s decision to move into the city echoes a larger trend that has included multiple big-name companies, such as Kraft Heinz, Hillshire Brands, and United Airlines. These companies have all begun moving away from suburban campuses and into a big city, seeking more tech-savvy employees and more opportunities to connect with other tech-focused companies.
For a company so rooted in digital technology, the need for a younger and more educated workforce is essential for Motorola Solutions’ success. Moving into the city will allow the company to allocate more resources toward IT security investments, which is something that nearly 50% of all businesses today are doing, and it will allow Motorola to benefit from the high population of IT professionals in Chicago.
“Our company began in this city 87 years ago, and today we’re pleased to announce that our headquarters is coming home,” said CEO and chairman Greg Brown. Motorola Solutions’ predecessor, Motorola, was first founded in 1928 on Harrison Street.
