CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[bnk]

Originally Posted by VKChaz

Amazon's location/position page should be a pretty good proxy for what roles they have where and a sense of scale

https://www.amazon.jobs/en/locations/?&continent=north_america&cache

Kind of funny that there are almost 10,000 jobs open in Seattle.

No wonder HQ 1.5 happened.


There is no way those jobs could ever be filled even by a quarter in years.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by bnk

Kind of funny that there are almost 10,000 jobs open in Seattle.

No wonder HQ 1.5 happened.


There is no way those jobs could ever be filled even by a quarter in years.

One of the reasons for HQ2 wasn't because of this really. There's already almost 50,000 corporate office workers in Seattle. That's a lot of job openings, but yeah. Not really the reason why. They have absolutely ZERO trouble recruiting people out to Seattle. They're a well known juggernaut and this is not the reason why at all.

One of the major reasons behind HQ2 was because of the negative effect they had on Seattle in terms of cost of living. They have had a really positive one of course - the city has come on strong. However, they made it way more un-affordable. To put this into perspective: Seattle city in January had more $1M+ home sales than Chicago city despite the fact that it's only about 1/4 the population of Chicago. Out of all the cities I can see on realtor.com for this metric:

NYC: 757 sales (Manhattan = 349 sales, Brooklyn = 244 sales, Queens = 122 sales, Bronx = 25 sales, Staten Island = 17 sales)
San Francisco: 211 sales
San Jose: 176 sales
Los Angeles: 151 sales
San Diego: 133 sales
Seattle: 114 sales
Washington DC: 114 sales
Boston: 92 sales
Chicago: 88 sales
Portland: 45 sales
Charlotte: 31 sales
Denver: 30 sales
Atlanta: 29 sales
Miami Beach: 28 sales
Miami: 27 sales
Oakland: 27 sales
Baltimore: 22 sales
Las Vegas: 21 sales
Minneapolis: 21 sales
Nashville: 21 sales
Jacksonville: 20 sales
Cleveland: 19 sales
Jersey City, NJ: 18 sales
Phoenix: 18 sales
Philadelphia: 16 sales
Columbus, OH: 15 sales
Honolulu: 11 sales

BTW The last few months have been down in sales for Chicago - there were more sales back in the fall/summer of course.

The rent prices in areas like downtown Seattle are basically similar to that of downtown Chicago. The fact that it's a small place, the public transit isn't as far reaching as other places, etc means that if they hired ANOTHER 50,000 people in Seattle, it would have become another San Francisco in terms of cost of living. While Seattle is not cheap, it's also not like SF. They knew this and there's many reasons why they asked for only metropolitan areas of population 1+ million to submit proposals to them for HQ2.

Ultimately due to things like their timeline and workforce size, only a handful of metro areas actually made sense, which I stated time and time again on here - NYC, LA, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, DC, Dallas, Toronto, and Atlanta. With respect to cost of living, the actual cities of Boston and DC would be too small - they picked an area near Arlington, VA which is also not cheap, but not like DC. The prices of Arlington are closer to that of downtown Chicago or Seattle.

[the urban politician]

Convene, flexible workspace operator, plans to expand Chicago office footprint to 1 million sf:

https://www.bisnow.com/chicago/news/offi...chicago-location-and-has-big-plans-97506

[marothisu]

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hin...es-reason-optimism-over-illinois-economy

Moody's sees reason for optimism over Illinois economy

Boosted by booming downtown Chicago and a perhaps surprising revival of downstate manufacturing, Illinois’ economy is showing signs of pulling out of its mid-decade funk, according to a new report prepared for the state by Moody’s Analytics. The growth of personal income compared to other Midwest states has been particularly impressive, the New York research firm says.

But state job growth, while improving, still lags the nation and the region. And unless the state can reverse its population loss, its economic recovery will be limited, Moody’s says.

..

With the official unemployment rate now down to 4.2 percent, the state “has moved beyond full employment into late cycle expansion,” Moody’s reports. That’s led to a net addition of about 70,000 jobs in the past year, two-thirds more than in 2017. About a quarter of the jobs are in manufacturing.

With the state’s labor force stable, “the result has been accelerating wage growth . . . (and) the quality of new jobs keeps improving as well; the pace of job creation in high- and mid-wage occupations is the strongest it has been during this cycle.” In fact, on a four-quarter moving average basis, personal income growth in Illinois now is the highest of any Midwest state.

..

Moody’s points to two factors: More manufacturing in areas such as the Quad Cities, Rockford and Peoria, and “flourishing” job and real estate markets in the central area of Chicago. Moody’s underlines—as I have in past coverage, as have the mayoral candidates—that many outlying sections of the city have not joined in that prosperity. But the firm is surprisingly positive about the city’s overall prospects, saying Chicago “will continue to develop as the transportation and distribution center for the Midwest” and will “increasingly develop its tech industry.”

On that point, Moody's adds, “The explosion of tech-related hiring on the Near North and Near West sides and corporate locations from the suburbs such as those by Walgreens, Mondelez International, Peapod, Hillshire Brands, Kraft Heinz and United Continental Holdings, suggest that this new economic engine has reached critical mass enabling growth to become self-perpetuating.”

Now the bad news.

For the first time since World War II, the state lost population for five years in a row, and that lack of labor force and purchasing power is really affecting lower-wage positions, “especially population-dependent industries such as retail, that has detracted most from total employment growth.” That, plus the hangover from the state’s fiscal crisis, “threatens to discourage firms from locating or remaining in the state,” Moody’s says.

[bnk]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisagarci...the-end-of-a380-production/#3ff8ff777460

Feb 14, 2019, 12:57pm

A Jumbo Win For Boeing As Airbus Announces The End Of A380 Production


Marisa Garcia
Contributor



It’s an emotional week in aviation. Airbus’ long-anticipated announcement that it will end production of the A380, made on Valentine’s Day in the week following the 50th anniversary of the 747’s first flight, couldn’t be more poignant.

It seems that big planes are going out of style. But, even after 50 years, Boeing’s 747 program has some life left in it. The much younger A380, by comparison, never really got a chance to prove her worth.

Out of Time
Airbus CEO Tom Enders expressed regrets over the timing of the A380 program, saying, “There has been speculation that we were 10 years too early; I think it is clear that we were 10 years too late.”
But it was closer to four decades too late, or perhaps three decades too soon. There was not enough demand for an aircraft that size by the time the A380 rolled out in 2005, as proven by the aircraft's inability to attract sizeable orders in its brief lifetime. The 747 has lasted five decades and still maintains a sizable share of the very large aircraft market with over 1,500 units built since 1969, more than 500 still flying, and more orders left on the books when you count the freighter version (and you should).
The Airbus A380 netted 313 units sold as of January of this year and had delivered 234. Worse, ten-year-old aircraft leaving service have found no after-market demand and been scrapped for spares.


…

But the 747 is still leaner than the A380, and offers more flexible operations with more airports around the world designed to support the aircraft. The 747 was designed to outlast its usefulness for passenger services, from the beginning. It was always imagined as a freighter and has ample room to carry cargo in the hold, even on the passenger version.

...

[bnk]

https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2019/02/18/boeing-777x-airbus-a380/

2019 Updated: 12:22am, Feb 20

Boeing’s new 777X a ‘viable alternative’ to failed Airbus A380




Suzan Delibasic



Boeing’s new wide-body 777X aircraft could replace the soon-to-be-obsolete Airbus A380, leading aviation experts say.

The 777X, described by Boeing as the largest and most efficient twin-engine jet in the world, has a wing span of 72 metres. But when on the ground the aircraft’s distinctive folding wingtips reduce the wingspan to 65 metres.
Airbus announced last week it would end production of the world’s largest passenger plane in 2021, less than 14 years after its maiden flight.
Airbus chief executive Tom Enders and other executives made a stunning yet long-anticipated admission: The A380 was the wrong product at the wrong time, created to feed a demand for 800-seat jets that never materialised.

777X specs revealed

The 777X will replace the 777-300ER, which has long been Boeing’s star wide-body plane that can carry 350 to 400 passengers.
Emirates will be the first airline to take delivery of the 777X in 2020, with Boeing largely depending on its flagship model to dominate in the wide-body jet category.

This first of the new models of the 777X – the 777-9X – is the larger of two planned versions, and will have three extra rows of seats with the ability to carry 400 to 425 passengers.


The aircraft is also more fuel efficient and flies 400 kilometres further, giving it a 14,080-kilometre range.

One of the most unique features of the 777X is its folding wingtips, which shortens the wingspan on the ground.
This will allow for the aircraft to be accommodated at existing gates, an issue that hindered the growth and popularity of the Airbus A380.

‘More fuel efficient’

Dr Peter Bruce, airline operations expert at Swinburne University, said the 777X was a close replacement for the super-sized A380.
“The 777X is going to be a superb aircraft and will be excellent in terms of fuel costs,” Dr Bruce told The New Daily.

…

“You can fly two Boeing 777s between Sydney and Los Angeles with the same fuel consumption as the A380.”

The history of the A380

Development talks for the A380 began in 2000. It was intended to be Airbus’s 21st-century answer to rival Boeing’s 1960s-era 747 – and was one of the most ambitious endeavours in aviation.
...

[the urban politician]

^ Boeing news always bores me, because I never get the feeling that it means anything for Chicago

[bnk]

Well I prefer them to continue be a profitably and successful major global company who's HQ is in DT Chicago. They have thrown around millions every year into local charitable foundation in the city yearly.

We all know the manufacturing jobs are not here but


"NEWs

Chicago-based Boeing"




The Boeing Company is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support services. Boeing is among the largest global aircraft manufacturers; it is the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world based on 2017 revenue, and is the largest exporter in the United States by dollar value. Boeing stock is included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The Boeing Company has its corporate headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing




And anything to take away from Lockheed.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...pgraded-boeing-fighters-along-with-f-35s

Air Force Wants Eight Upgraded Boeing Fighters

By Anthony Capaccio
‎February‎ ‎19‎, ‎2019‎ ‎3‎:‎00‎ ‎AM‎ ‎CST


...

Chicago-based Boeing has offered the aircraft, including engines, for about $80 million per plane under a fixed-price contract with the first deliveries to come in 2022. By comparison, the F-35 from Lockheed is estimated to cost $89 million each in the latest contract with a goal of $80 million by 2020.



Still, two of Lockheed’s strongest congressional supporters, Republican Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas, drew up the letter to Trump warning against underfunding the F-35 that’s built in their state in order to buy the F-15X.

...

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Boeing news always bores me, because I never get the feeling that it means anything for Chicago

It shouldn't, in terms of global relevance, Boeing's HQ is a big boost to our city particularly given the preeminence of other local aviation juggernaughts like United and O'Hare. There is no more of a Chicago business propaganda coup than a United announcement of a big Boeing order staged at O'Hare airport.

Frankly I always love Boeing news, but not just as a Chicago booster, but as a USA booster. Boeing represents everything that is right about American manufacturing and business and frankly our system. No one can really compete with them, Airbus is basically a state sponsored pseudo private enterprise that all of Europe is backing and they STILL can't touch Boeing. Boeing crushes them in two key areas: innovation and raw business decision making.

The A-380 boondoggle typifies this and is actually very Concorde like. Sure sounds logical and super cool (super fast? Who wouldn't like that? Super huge, the airlines will love it!), but at the end of the day Boeing wins by simply going straight for the sure bet of massively improving on existing configurations that have worked for decades. Given how the 737 and other mid size aircraft have sold, why would you decide to try to break into a whole new category? Instead they went for a familiarly sized craft, but MASSIVELY upgraded the technology of it all, new carbon composites, more comfortable climate control, more efficient wing design and engines, etc.

And frankly that's what America itself has always excelled at; taking the latest and most innovative technology and then finding a way to deliver it to as many customers as possible.

[the urban politician]

^ I understand that Boeing is HQ'd in Chicago and that it was a huge boost to our city.

But day to day news about whether Boeing sells more planes or is doing better probably doesn't matter much. It certainly doesn't lead to more jobs here, and at most it will probably enhance local executive salaries such that a few more Porsches and a couple of more luxury penthouses downtown or high end homes in Glencoe will get sold.

[ChiMIchael]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Boeing news always bores me, because I never get the feeling that it means anything for Chicago

I thought that I was the only one that felt this way. Boeing is more/less a mere vanity piece in Chicago. I mean, are any planes actually built here?

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by ChiMIchael

I mean, are any planes actually built here?

no.

they don't even have much of a presence here.

just a bunch of c-suite execs and their staffers, maybe 100-200 people?

the VAST bulk of their operations are elsewhere, with the largest concentrations in washington, missouri, and california.

[F1 Tommy]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

no.

they don't even have much of a presence here.

just a bunch of c-suite execs and their staffers, maybe 100-200 people?

the VAST bulk of their operations are elsewhere, with the largest concentrations in washington, missouri, and california.

Charleston, South Carolina, the factory they said they could not put in Illinois(pure BS). Boeing in California is shrinking. Also Kansas and Texas have production and modification plants along with a few other states. They ship 737 fuselages on trains. We have plenty of freight train service in Illinois. Boeing does not want to deal with what they consider to be another union state.

[Steely Dan]

^ i wasn't trying to imply that boeing only had concentrations in WA, MO, and CA, just that those are the three largest in terms of employment according to this chart:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing#Employment_numbers

[marothisu]

Feds pumping millions more into UI Labs' digital manufacturing research

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john-ple...e-ui-labs-digital-manufacturing-research

The federal government will continue to fund UI Labs, five years after it first bankrolled the research partnership between universities and private companies.

The Department of Defense authorized $10 million this year for UI Labs’ digital-manufacturing program and plans at least another $20 million but potentially as much as $50 million over five years for total new funding that could reach $60 million.

--

Ag-tech entrepreneur is back with a new startup

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john-pletz-technology/ag-tech-entrepreneur-back-new-startup

Corbett Kull helped bring Big Data to the business of farming with his first startup, 640 Labs, which he sold to Climate Corp. about four years ago.

He wasn’t done. Kull has built an online marketplace to match farmers looking for more land to work with owners of farmland who don’t want to farm.

The company, Tillable, raised $8.25 million, led by the Production Board, a San Francisco-based incubator and holding company launched by David Friedberg, a serial internet entrepreneur who founded and was CEO of Climate Corp. Also investing is First Round Capital, a San Francisco fund that backed Climate, Uber, Hotel Tonight, Ring, Square and Warby Parker.

The company, based in River North, has 16 employees. Kull says he plans to use the new funding to ramp up sales and marketing, engineering and product development.

[marothisu]

Relativity Hires First CTO, Announces Plans to Add 300 Workers in 2019

https://www.americaninno.com/chicago/inn...ounces-plans-to-add-300-workers-in-2019/

Relativity, the Chicago tech company making legal software, is planning to hire 300 people this year, most of which will be placed at its local Loop headquarters.

New hires will mainly be added to Relativity’s customer success, software development and security teams, said Relativity’s Director of Talent Selection and Services Matt Garvey. Though the majority of the hires will be made in Chicago, Relativity will also be adding employees to its other offices across the globe. Besides the U.S., Relativity has offices in London, Hong Kong, Australia and Poland.

Relativity, formerly known as kCura, has already on-boarded about 40 people since the beginning of this year, and plans to hire about 20 people per month throughout the rest of 2019, Garvey said. The company, founded by CEO Andrew Sieja in 2001, currently employs nearly 900 people across the globe, 700 of which are in Chicago.

[bnk]

Another reason I am big on Boeing was back in 2001 after new news of the Chicago HQ move I bought a bunch of Boeing stock out of pride back in 2001 at ~ $ 38 dollars a share. I only wish I bought more.






https://www.chicagobusiness.com/manufact...aised-morgan-stanley-sees-path-500-share

February 27, 2019 08:36 PM | 14 hours ago



Boeing target raised as Morgan Stanley sees path to $500 a share


“Healthy free cash flow yield, a stable commercial aerospace backdrop, and positive upcoming data points” support continued upward momentum, an analyst writes.


(Bloomberg) — Boeing Co. shares have a “clear path” to $500 given broadly higher market multiples, along with a potential order boost from a resolution in the China trade situation, Morgan Stanley analyst Rajeev Lalwani wrote in a note to clients.

“The combination of a healthy free cash flow yield, a stable commercial aerospace backdrop, and positive upcoming data points” support continued upward momentum in Boeing shares, the analyst added, and raised his price target on the stock to $500 from $450. He maintained the overweight rating.

At $505, First Shanghai Securities is the only analyst with a price target over $500 on Boeing, and Melius Research also has a $500 target, according to Bloomberg data.

Boeing shares have gained 35 percent this year, making it the top gainer on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

...

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Relativity Hires First CTO, Announces Plans to Add 300 Workers in 2019

https://www.americaninno.com/chicago/inn...ounces-plans-to-add-300-workers-in-2019/

Another article about this company:

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john-ple...irm-snares-amazon-vet-plans-add-300-jobs

I mean, this is one to watch. They are growing like gangbusters!

300 hires in 1 year is basically a medium sized apartment tower

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Another article about this company:

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john-ple...irm-snares-amazon-vet-plans-add-300-jobs

I mean, this is one to watch. They are growing like gangbusters!

300 hires in 1 year is basically a medium sized apartment tower

One of my best buds has been there for about 5 years and it is absolutely insane how much they’ve grown.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Another article about this company:

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john-ple...irm-snares-amazon-vet-plans-add-300-jobs

I mean, this is one to watch. They are growing like gangbusters!

300 hires in 1 year is basically a medium sized apartment tower

Or 100 3 flats as is apparently the will of the voters...