Abbott Laboratories plans to open a new office in the Willis Tower skyscraper downtown, the company confirmed Tuesday.
The leased space will accommodate as many as 450 workers, and is expected to open in the second half of 2023, spokesman Scott Stoffel said in an email.
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The company’s headquarters will remain in Lake County, where it currently has a sprawling campus.
The new office will “make it possible for some current and future employees who live in the city to work closer to home,” Stoffel said.
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The move comes as downtown office vacancies remain high, with many companies requiring workers to return to offices only a few days a week or not at all.
“We believe that Abbott does its best work when our employees can collaborate in person,” he said. “It allows for increased innovation, relationship building and skills development. At the same time we want to continue to make it easier for more colleagues to balance their lives effectively and we’ve listened closely to feedback from employees about how Abbott can help them do so through a range of flexible work options.”
Abbott makes diagnostic tests, such as at-home BinaxNOW COVID-19 tests as well as medical devices and nutritional products. The company has come under fire in recent months after a recall of formulas made at its Sturgis, Michigan, plant exacerbated a nationwide shortage of infant formula.
