Chicago City Wire

Approximately 1,000 Tyson Foods corporate employees are moving to the meat company’s headquarters in Springdale, Ark.

“Tyson’s diverse portfolio of products and brands provides us with an unmatched strategic advantage to serve our customers,” Donnie King, President & CEO, Tyson Foods, said in a release. “Bringing our talented corporate team members and businesses together under one roof unlocks greater opportunities to share perspectives and ideas, while also enabling us to act quickly to solve problems and provide the innovative products solutions that our customers deserve and value.”

Reuters wrote the move will happen next year.

King announced that the company is pulling its corporate employees out of its Chicago and Downers Grove offices and relocating them to its global headquarters in Arkansas, according to a release. The transition will begin early next year. King called the move a way to enhance collaboration.

Wirepoints called the move "another loss for Chicago" in a tweet.

However, Reuters reported a spokesperson for Governor J.B. Pritzker said the company made the decision “based on its unique corporate needs,” and Reuters noted Tyson has a project in Caseyville, Ill., that could create approximately 200 jobs.

Billionaire Ken Griffin announced earlier this year that he decided to relocate hedge fund Citadel and market-maker Citadel Securities out of Illinois, Market Watch reported. “Chicago will continue to be important to the future of Citadel, as many of our colleagues have deep ties to Illinois,” Griffin wrote in a letter to employees. “Over the past year, however, many of our Chicago teams have asked to relocate to Miami, New York and our other offices around the world.” Griffin is among the 50 wealthiest people in the world, with an estimated worth of $28.9 billion. Citadel officials said crime was a factor in Griffin's decision.

Tyson isn’t alone in moving its people to its home base.

Caterpillar announced on June 14 that it is going to relocate its headquarters from Deerfield, Illinois, to Irving, Texas, according to a press release. “We believe it’s in the best strategic interest of the company to make this move, which supports Caterpillar’s strategy for profitable growth as we help our customers build a better, more sustainable world,” Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby said.

Reuters noted that companies such as Kellogg are moving to Chicago.

Boeing announced in May that it is relocating its headquarters from Chicago to a suburb of Washington, DC, NBC reported.

“We are excited to build on our foundation here in Northern Virginia," Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun said in a statement. "The region makes strategic sense for our global headquarters given its proximity to our customers and stakeholders, and its access to world-class engineering and technical talent."

AXIOS reported Tyson said there are no expected layoffs for the move.

Chief Executive magazine conducted a survey of around 700 business owners from every state and ranked Illinois 48th overall, meaning it is the third-worst state in the country for business, The Center Square reported,” Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski said. "Only California and New York were ranked worse than Illinois. Texas, Florida, and Tennessee were ranked as the top states for doing business. “We’re too corrupt. Our taxes are way too high. We have way too many regulations and we have massive debts, and that is plenty of reason enough for companies to not want to locate in Illinois, not to mention the state is shrinking in population so it's not a growth state to put your business in."