500 New Jobs Up for Grabs as Walgreen Co. Expands Headquarters

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Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) will invest a total of $75 million to renovate and expand more than two dozens of its corporate offices in Illinois over the next three years, creating approximately 500 jobs in the process. The project is an agreement between the company and the state government, after the Office of the  State Governor, Pat Quinn revealed that, it gave Walgreen an estimated $46 million in tax credits over ten years. Additionally, Quinn also offered $625,000 in training funds, coupled with additional $875,000 in the form of other tax incentives, notes Chicago Tribune.

500 New Jobs Up for Grabs as Walgreen Co. Expands Headquarters

The report indicates that the tax credits are pegged to the company’s job retention in Illinois of 1,500 jobs, while the company employs over 5,000 in the state. The report quotes Quinn in a statement saying, “Walgreens has deep roots in Illinois and is an important part of the region’s flourishing health care hub.” He then added to emphasize his believe in the project saying, “this expansion will create good paying jobs, attract additional investment to the area and help fuel our economic recovery.”

The new jobs may be up for grabs but, you need to be a corporate person to qualify. Additionally, the new jobs will focus heavily on supporting the company’s health and wellness services, its online business, and pharmacy. Currently, Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG)corporate office is located in twenty seven different office buildings in various areas of the state, including Chicago, Deerfield, Buffalo Grove, Northbrook,  Lincolnshire, Mt. Prospect, Bannockburn, and Northlake.

The report notes that actually, this is not the first time that Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) is receiving incentives from the state government to retain workers, while creating more; in 2010, the company received $18.5 million through the state’s Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credit program, (EDGE). The company was asked to create 141 new jobs by investing $18.3 million in Illinois, in the original EDGE agreement.

Since then, Walgreen has invested nearly $105 million in Deerfield, and in in 2011, according to the figures released by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, charged with the administration of incentives packages, the company received approximately $419,000 in tax credits, and training funds. Consequently, the Walgreen was expected to create at least 30 jobs, and invest $26.7 million in the state.

Walgreen president and CEO, Greg Wasson, is quoted in a statement saying, “Just as our stores and pharmacies are health and daily living anchors for the communities we serve, we as a company are now, recommitted to serving as an economic anchor for northeastern Illinois. A state and workforce that has served us so well for more than a century, will now see our footprint grow even larger.”

 

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