Caterpillar has announced plans to relocate its global headquarters to Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The move comes five years after it left Peoria, Illinois, for the Chicago suburb of Deerfield, citing “recruiting and access to a global transportation hub” as factors in the decision to move from the central Illinois headquarter location it held for more than 90 years.
Caterpillar will transfer roughly 230 jobs from Deerfield to the company’s existing offices in Irving.
“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,” said Chair and CEO Jim Umpleby.
Caterpillar has had a presence in Texas since the 1960s across several areas of the company, including Caterpillar Oil & Gas, which is currently headquartered in Houston.
The announcement comes less than 18 months after Caterpillar signed a multi-floor lease in the West Tower of Williams Square, a 1.4 million-sq.-ft. (130,064-m2) office campus in Irving.
In April 2021, The Dallas Morning News reported that Caterpillar was consolidating workers from its Electric Power Division, transferring “functions and hundreds of jobs now in California, Arizona, and Indiana to the new location in North Texas.” The paper reported that the division has previously had major offices in San Diego, Tucson, and Lafayette, Indiana, with leadership in Houston and Atlanta. Caterpillar also told The Dallas Morning News, “The capacity of the office will be determined by business needs for the groups based there.”
Caterpillar will begin transitioning its global headquarters to Irving later this year. Whether or not Houston will remain headquarters for Caterpillar Oil & Gas is unknown. Requests for comment/clarification from Caterpillar were not answered.
