Uber Technologies plans to hire 2,000 employees over the next three years who will help grow the headquarters for Uber Freight in The Old Post Office.
The company last month signed a 10-year lease for 463,000 square feet in the massive, long-vacant building. Uber’s space will serve as a headquarters for the tech giant’s freight service, which connects truck drivers with shippers. The new Chicago office also will serve as Freight’s first engineering hub outside of San Francisco.
“Chicago is going to be one of the important cities for Uber,” said CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. “This is a big bet that we’re making.”
The Tribune reported in March that Uber was searching for a big new space to accommodate employees it planned to hire for the 2-year-old business unit. On Monday, executives announced its hiring plans.
Trucking is a big opportunity for Uber, said Khosrowshahi, as he rode a Pink Line “L” train through the Loop Monday morning toward the 2.8 million-square-foot Old Post Office on the Chicago River. Chicago has the talent needed to fill the roles at the fast-growing Uber Freight, he said.
“Chicago is the logistics capital of the states and with Uber Freight we’re trying to revolutionize the logistics business,” Khosrowshahi said. “We thought, ‘What better place to base the majority of our freight employees than Chicago.’ “
With more than 1,000 employees in the area, Uber’s Chicago office is already its second-largest outside of its San Francisco headquarters. Khosrowshahi said he expected it to remain so for some time.
The new employees Uber plans to hire in Chicago will work in logistics, but also in operational roles, such as engineering and technology. The company said its growth in Chicago will represent a $200 million investment annually.
Chicago has been working to boost its standing as a tech city, and one obstacle commonly cited among those involved in that effort is getting tech workers to stay in the area. A household name like Uber hiring software engineers could help.
Sometimes a city needs a company to bet on its potential, Khosrowshahi said. Uber saw the potential Chicago had first with its ride-share and Uber Eats business.
“When we saw the level of talent we could attract here — people here work hard, they’re thankful for their jobs, they have this kind of Midwestern work ethic that flows through the offices — that really encouraged us to say OK, you know what, let’s double down on Chicago,” Khosrowshahi said. “And let’s double down in a way that makes a statement. That it’s not just operations, it’s tech.”
Besides Uber Freight, which has had a presence in Chicago since it launched in 2017, the office also employs people in the Uber Eats and Uber Ride businesses, such as sales staff, lawyers, marketing, and operational staff for Chicago and other Midwest markets.
Uber has two large offices in downtown Chicago, at 111 N. Canal St. and 225 W. Randolph St., that together occupy about 185,000 square feet. Both offices will consolidate in Uber’s planned space in The Old Post Office.
“Uber’s not a traditional company, and we thought going into a space that hasn’t been used for years and years and years reflected one of our values, which is to make big bold bets,” Khosrowshahi said.
Uber Freight’s customers include brewing giant AB InBev, bottled beverage manufacturer Niagara Bottling and dairy cooperative Land O’Lakes.
The automation of the logistics industry is catching on with both shippers and drivers around the world, said Lior Ron, head of Uber Freight. It’s a complicated industry with a lot of moving parts, and technology can help make it more efficient.
Uber Freight competes for talent with other other expanding logistics companies in Chicago. Those include Echo Global Logistics, which was launched by Groupon’s founders; transport company C.H. Robinson; and e-commerce fulfillment company ShipBob.
Uber is working with workplace development nonprofit Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership to find potential job candidates.
Uber is giving “more Chicago residents access to good-paying jobs in the future,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at a Monday the news conference. “One of the challenges of course we face is making sure that we’ve got the talent and the pipeline to fill those jobs, and we are going to be working hand in glove with Uber … to really make sure our young people have the skills that they need to be the future Uber Freight and other tech workers.”
Uber’s new space will be as big as 24 football fields and spread over two floors. It’s the largest lease signed in the building that sat vacant for years but is quickly filling up amid an $800 million-plus redevelopment by New York-based developer 601W Cos.
The first tenants of the Old Post Office are set to move in this fall, and Uber a year later. Other signed tenants include Walgreens, Ferrara Candy and Home Chef.
PepsiCo and WeWork are also working on finalizing leases in the offices, the Tribune reported last week.
Ryan Ori contributed.
amarotti@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @AllyMarotti
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