jeffhergertWhile working from home will impact commuter patterns, trains, transit, private auto, etc. I don't think it will lead to people moving out of metropolitan complexes. People may not commute to work, but most are going to want the amenities that mostly can only be found in urban areas.
I'm a Federal contractor working out of (well, not right now, but you know what I mean) a DC headquarters office. It depends from agency to agency and office to office, but we've had a robust telework policy in place for the better part of a decade. Yet, for all this talk of people decamping from urban areas, it hasn't happened here, where we already had plenty of people working from home. They keep moving into the District itself, for exactly the reasons you describe.
Some of 'the rest of the story' likely here, too:
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2019/12/19/552548.htm
greyhounds jeffhergert Reading the article, and one from last year where 3800 people were being let go due to business realignment, maybe they just don't need that large campus anymore. I doubt that all the people cut in the announcement worked out of the big office. However, they do maintain other office locations in the area and possibly people will be relocated to them. Jeff, Do you have a link to the article about them letting 3,800 folks go? I’d like to read it. I’m a geezer, so what I recall may not be accurate. But Allstate had always been a traditional insurance company selling policies through local agents. When people started buying insurance on-line Allstate needed to adjust. They tried developing Internet sales internally, but it was too slow. So they just bought Esurance, a company in Silicon Valley that was an established Internet insurance provider. Allstate was on-line. But that buy created all kinds of duplication. Maybe those unfortunate 3,800 were mostly out in The Golden State and had nothing to do with the employment in Northbrook, IL.
jeffhergert Reading the article, and one from last year where 3800 people were being let go due to business realignment, maybe they just don't need that large campus anymore. I doubt that all the people cut in the announcement worked out of the big office. However, they do maintain other office locations in the area and possibly people will be relocated to them.
Here you go.
I couldn't use your link provided. I guess I had used up all my free rticle access. Searching for it or something similar is how I ran across this one.
Allstate to Cut 3,800 Jobs as Latest Step in Multi-Year Growth Plan (insurancejournal.com)
Now, when searching for the link to the older story, I find a lot more articles on the sale of the GHQ building. I did find a way to read the original story.
Jeff
PSR has done more damage than this ever will.
jeffhergertReading the article, and one from last year where 3800 people were being let go due to business realignment, maybe they just don't need that large campus anymore. I doubt that all the people cut in the announcement worked out of the big office. However, they do maintain other office locations in the area and possibly people will be relocated to them.
There's an annual 3 day biz conference in St.Louis at the downtown conference center in a couple weeks I'd normally attend. Usually 8,000 or so in attendance. Would drive to Bloomington IL, then Amtrak/light rail to hotel across street from conf. center. The company is also zooming the meetings for a small fee. No way am I going to attend it there. Three C's. Covid, Crime, Cash. (No travel, hotel, or high meal expense). I know I'm not the only one. Lost interest in being in any big city anymore.
It seems a few major HQ's are leaving the Chicago burbs for the city core. McDonalds, and Motorola just to name a few. I imagine Allstate may do the same.. Albeit in a smaller footprint.
Reading the article, and one from last year where 3800 people were being let go due to business realignment, maybe they just don't need that large campus anymore. I doubt that all the people cut in the announcement worked out of the big office. However, they do maintain other office locations in the area and possibly people will be relocated to them.
It's probably better PR to say we no longer need our large office complex because more people are working from home, rather than it's due to changes in our business operations resulting in fewer people needed in one central location.
While working from home will impact commuter patterns, trains, transit, private auto, etc. I don't think it will lead to people moving out of metropolitan complexes. People may not commute to work, but most are going to want the amenities that mostly can only be found in urban areas.
Balt, you said it.
How well work from home has played out for everyone else remains to be seen. Obviously it was a success for Allstate, turning the main office into a white elephant.
Considering Illinois is an expensive place to do business unloading the main office complex and most likely moving a core cadre to a much smaller location (some part of the organization is still going to have to be centralized) is the thing for them to do.
The past is history - the future is unknown.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
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