Deere & Co. announced Monday that it will open a new Chicago office that will house hundreds of new information technology positions.
The Moline-based company’s plans include adding 150 information technology jobs over two years with an eventual goal of having 300 positions supporting IT and other roles in the new Chicago office. 
The new office will be located in the Fulton Market neighborhood and is scheduled to open in late summer or early fall of 2022.
John Deere has leased more than 38,000 square feet of space at 800 W. Fulton Market, Chicago, according to a recent report from Crain’s business magazine.
The new office is expected to target IT capabilities in eCommerce, data, cloud, analytics and a variety of innovation related to technical skills.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be expanding our footprint in downtown Chicago,” Andrez Carberry, director of Deere’e Global HR Operations, said in a news release. “A focused expansion of John Deere’s global footprint aligns directly with our smart industrial strategy. This includes leveraging additional markets that have great diversity and technology skills to incorporate into our world-class talent base.”
The new office will pave the way for hundreds of new IT jobs in Illinois, according to a news release from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office.
“John Deere’s new technology center in Chicago is just one example of the innovation and investment Illinois is inspiring with our top-tier talent and world-class infrastructure,” the release added.
The new facility also will help with Deere’s ongoing modernization in the digital business world, according to company officials.
“Over the past few years, the digital transformation and agility of our business operations have been accelerated by a more modern information tech stack on the foundation of stronger digital and technical skills,” said Ganesh Jayaram, Deere’s vice president of information technology, in a news release.
The Quad Cities currently has Deere’s largest IT workforce with about 1,200 employees. Company officials said about $30 million has been invested in their IT operations in the Quad Cities over the past three years.
The Chicago expansion is being helped by an EDGE agreement through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Opportunity. The EDGE program supports companies making large-scale capital investments and long-term job creation moves in Illinois.
