GE is doubling down on its Chicago tech presence by relocating hundreds of jobs from its GE Healthcare office in suburban Barrington to the company's downtown location.
GE announced that the workers will be based out of the company’s 500 W. Monroe building, which is the lead office for GE Transportation’s Digital Solutions business. The move brings together software engineers, software developers, data scientists, product analysts and project managers from across GE's Healthcare, Transportation and Digital operations under one roof, the company said.
GE declined to say the exact number of jobs that will be relocating downtown, but the Chicago office will eventually be occupied by more than 1,000 GE employees, the company said.
The news follows a March 2016 announcement by GE that it planned to create 160 new digital jobs in the Chicago area and name the city a digital hub for the company's transportation and healthcare divisions. In January 2016, GE Healthcare announced that it was moving its headquarters from the U.K. to Chicago.
“Chicago offers an excellent platform for GE Healthcare to work side-by-side with some of the world’s most respected healthcare institutions, startups, associations and industry thought leaders,” John Flannery, Chief Executive Officer for GE Healthcare, said in a statement. “This increased proximity will enable us to frequently collaborate and rapidly co-create digital solutions that can help deliver outcomes for our customers.”
GE called the relocation of jobs from Barrington to Chicago a "commitment to digital." It plans to invest over $500 million in software by 2018, and many of its Chicago employees will be dedicated software engineers.
“Chicago is a leading global city for technology, and we have the talent and ecosystem of innovation to accelerate GE’s digital transformation,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in the statement. “This move is a vote of confidence in our city, and I look forward to watching GE continue to build an exciting future here.”
GE's growing Chicago presence comes as several large companies have relocated their operations to downtown recently, including Motorola Solutions, Kraft Heinz, Hillshire Brands, McDonald's and ConAgra.
Image via GE
