Chicago

Uber Announces New ‘Freight' Headquarters Bringing 2K Jobs to Chicago

The announcement comes just weeks after Uber revealed that it signed a major lease inside Chicago's Old Main Post Office

Uber's CEO has announced the company's new Freight headquarters will be housed in the Chicago, bringing the rideshare giant's second-largest office to the city along with 2,000 new jobs. 

The announcement comes just weeks after Uber revealed that it signed a major lease inside Chicago's Old Main Post Office, inking a 10-year agreement to open the company's largest office behind its headquarters in San Francisco. The lease begins Jan. 5, 2020 and will make Uber the "anchor tenant" in the space, taking up 463,000 square feet.

The company's top executives were in Chicago for the announcement, stopping by the new office to share the news of "major new investments" in the city.

“Uber has long recognized the incredible history, innovation, and talent that Chicago has to offer, and we’re excited about the thousands of new jobs our businesses will help bring as we become one of the city’s largest technology employers,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement. “Chicago is the heart of America’s transportation and logistics industry, and there is no better place to continue to grow our teams and open our dedicated Freight HQ.”

Uber Freight HQ is expected to focus on freight engineering operations, sales and account management, according to company execs. The new office will bring the Chicago area $200 million annually in workforce and real estate investments, according to the mayor's office. 

“Today’s announcement is a testament to Chicago’s place as both a global transit hub and world-class destination for the tech industry to grow and thrive,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “This investment also represents an important step in creating economic growth that is both dynamic and inclusive." 

Uber said it plans to partner with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership to "broaden the reach, access and impact of its workforce." As part of the partnership, CCWP will receive more than $80,000 in grant funding from Uber's Community Impact Initiative. 

Majority of hiring is set to begin in 2020, the company said. 

On Sunday, Uber announced that its app would begin to include an integration with Chicago-area public transit, to help users plan their journey with real-time information on CTA and Metra services. That development came after competitor Lyft began doing the same in January.

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