MillerCoors chooses Chicago for HQ (Milwaukee, Kenosha: relocation, jobs, home)

[scdreamer]

According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, MillerCoors will invest in the Milwaukee brewery and add production jobs, but that all former corporate jobs will be leaving Brew City!

For more on this story, visit The Business Journal at: The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Local Business News.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by scdreamer

According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, MillerCoors will invest in the Milwaukee brewery and add production jobs, but that all former corporate jobs will be leaving Brew City!

For more on this story, visit The Business Journal at: The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Local Business News.

Well that sucks. I doubt that the executive jobs will be "losses" per se, probably more like relocations. I suppose that it's good there will be additional production jobs for the plant.

Good for Chicago, though.

[quijote]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

Well that sucks. I doubt that the executive jobs will be "losses" per se, probably more like relocations. I suppose that it's good there will be additional production jobs for the plant.

Good for Chicago, though.

Too bad MKE lost those exec/admin jobs, but I'm glad they're at least going to Chicago and not Dallas.

[MrBiloxi]

I for one am appalled, shocked and outraged of Miller-Coors decision to relocate to Chicago...of all places.
First of all...Milwaukee, to most people, means Beer. Coors should have been delighted that Miller was already established here in what many believe to be the Beer Capital of the World (even if we don't produce the most anymore).
To me, this is all about image, and Milwaukee does not need to be tarnished by having Miller-Coors move to its biggest suburb, Chicago. This is an absolute insult, and I am amazed at how lightly everyone is taking this. Especially considering the rivarely between the two cities. This is the ultimate slap in the face and every self respecting Milwaukean should take this as the afront that it is!
What really gets me going is how the local news reports so easily state, and seem to accept that one of the reasons Miller-Coors choose Chicago is for its "world class" designation. Who says its world class anyway, I certainly do not! Who determines its world class designation? Are they more world class than Milwaukee because they have more people, crime and traffic? I would love to have anyone enlighten me on the windy cities world classness and debate on how it is more world class than Milwaukee, or offers anything over Milwaukee that the majority of people truly care about, (please don't talk about shopping, most peope do not shop at Nieman's), or how Miller-Coors will be served, as a corporate office, any better than if it were to stay in the Beer Capital of the World?
I am not a beer drinker, so I can't even boycott the product, but beer drinkers should, and there should be a conglomeration of people protesting this move...and I don't care how many more jobs are supposedly coming from this move. Again, I think this has everything to do with image, and choosing Chicago over Milwaukee shows what an ignorant corporate culture this new company has.
Is there anyway we can change the name of our new stadium?

[414Milwaukee]

wow wtf Chicagos garbage

we should change Miller Park
to Budwiser Park

[EnjoyEP]

Biloxi -

I am very disappointed too just like you, but I believe you are replying with emotion rather than logic.

I am more pro-Milwaukee over Chicago for living than many and am very proud of Milwaukee, but you can't use the points you are using - they are grounded in emotion:

Originally Posted by MrBiloxi

First of all...Milwaukee, to most people, means Beer. ... what many believe to be the Beer Capital of the World (even if we don't produce the most anymore).

Actually, to be honest, with Miller HQ leaving, Milwaukee has absolutely NO major beer organizations anymore HQ'd here. I don't know if we are a prominent brewing town whatsoever honestly anymore economically.

Milwaukee used to be HQ'd to so many major national brewers breeding its rep: Schlitz, Blatz, Pabst, and Miller.

Now, the biggest brewer HQ'd here will be what? Sprecher. A very small, regional microbrewer. (Don't get me wrong...I love Sprecher / Lakefront, etc., but they are what they are - small regional microbrewers - great for quality beer drinking, but not in any ways a large national organization).

Originally Posted by MrBiloxi

Coors should have been delighted that Miller was already established here

This is kind of the insular thinking that gets Milwaukee into problems like this. Believe me, Coors was just as established and big in Denver metro as Miller was here.

Originally Posted by MrBiloxi

the local news reports so easily state, and seem to accept that one of the reasons Miller-Coors choose Chicago is for its "world class" designation. Who says its world class anyway,

Well, for starters...

-A metro population of 10+ million; (3rd largest city in the US by far, one of the largest and most vital cities worldwide); compare this to 1.7 metro Milwaukee.

-The 2nd busiest airport in the world - O'Hare International - where a non-stop flight to pretty much anywhere in the world is possible; a secondary more Mitchell-esque airport - Midway - also available. Access, access, access...shipping, shipping, shipping...

-Access to by far the best advertising / marketing firms in the US outside of NYC and the mass quantities of personnel there within.

*With due respect, this isn't a sports rivalry like Brewers v. Cubs. This is economics. A world-class metroplex (as much as *I* would prefer to live in Milwaukee by far) just offers an organization so much in terms of access to resources that a metro of less-than-2 million never could.

Originally Posted by MrBiloxi

Are they more world class than Milwaukee because they have more people,

Well, that's a big part of it. A LOT more people.

Originally Posted by MrBiloxi

crime

Actually, Chicago has more crime than Milwaukee only because of its mass size. On a per capita basis, Milwaukee's crime isn't any better than Chicago's.

Also, why would these white collar jobs (earing salaries of $75K on the low end to $150K and up - way up) really care about this? They are living in areas of Chicago where crime isn't an issue, just like in Milwaukee they'd have been living in areas where crime isn't an issue - not by Metcalfe Park.

Originally Posted by MrBiloxi

and traffic?

This is a quality of life item that sure makes - to me - living in Milwaukee far more desirable than living in Chicago. But frankly, quality of life items like this aren't exactly the top factors when a major organization decides where to locate.

Originally Posted by MrBiloxi

or offers anything over Milwaukee that the majority of people truly care about,

But this isn't about you or I living in Chicago or Milwaukee and deciding which one we feel is better to live in. It is about a major organization - where they'd like to be based to do their business.

Originally Posted by MrBiloxi

(please don't talk about shopping, most peope do not shop at Nieman's),

Maybe you or I don't, but the spouses of these $250K per year executives sure the heck do.

Originally Posted by MrBiloxi

Is there anyway we can change the name of our new stadium?

Not for 12 more years...Miller signed a 20 year contract. Even then, you'd need to find a local corporate headquarters willing to shell out $2 million a year to have their name on the place. Maybe a Manpower or a Northwestern Mutual Life would be interested.

[EnjoyEP]

The good news is that:

A) While the corporate HQs will be based in Chicago - at least for now - the plan is to have also Eastern and Western Regional Divisions, and Milwaukee will be the base for the Eastern Region. That is good. It keeps some corporate jobs here and a secondary corporate presence (and more importantly for Milwaukee - image).

B) Not all corporate jobs are leaving (see above point A), and, the brewery's capacity - at least for now - is being increased, thus, even more jobs there.

Overall though, this is very bad news for Milwaukee, despite a relatively low amount of jobs actually being transferred to Chicago (this isn't about the jobs).

So many are missing the boat on why this hurts Milwaukee so much (losing MillerCoors HQ) - typically, it is because of more near-term / short-term thinking by folks:

1. In the interim, sure, jobs will be bolstered in Milwaukee along with some regional corporate presence. But, who realistically thinks that'll be the solution for the long-term? What happens when companies start to cut costs - they consolidate. There will be a day when MillerCoors will need to cut costs, they'll consolidate, and once the Miller-Milwaukee association has been dwindled for a few years - 5, 8, etc. - it'll be an easier market to eliminate.

2. Sure, this isn't as vital a blow as Midwest Airlines, (or GM in Janesville), etc. But folks need to realize that this is so disturbing because it is part of such a trend like this! Major organizations folding / leaving WI...or more importantly, the Milwaukee area. EG: This wouldn't be as big of a deal if we heard next month that hey, we are locating - say - Washington Mutual's HQs from Seattle or Wells Fargo HQs. But that isn't going to happen. The big deal of this is it is part of the major trend.

In the next couple of years, it isn't a crippling blow by any means. But folks need to see 5, 8 years out. In a city / region that needs as many corporate HQs (for hopes of essentially not slowly dying in competition with major cities and the Sun Belt), as possible, being part of a trend of losing orgs like this is huge. A synergy with Chicago? Maybe that is wishful to us...to them, soon, we'll be another Kenosha to them if we don't turn this trend along.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by EnjoyEP

Biloxi -


Well, for starters...

-A metro population of 10+ million; (3rd largest city in the US by far, one of the largest and most vital cities worldwide); compare this to 1.7 metro Milwaukee.

-The 2nd busiest airport in the world - O'Hare International - where a non-stop flight to pretty much anywhere in the world is possible; a secondary more Mitchell-esque airport - Midway - also available. Access, access, access...shipping, shipping, shipping...

-Access to by far the best advertising / marketing firms in the US outside of NYC and the mass quantities of personnel there within.

*With due respect, this isn't a sports rivalry like Brewers v. Cubs. This is economics. A world-class metroplex (as much as *I* would prefer to live in Milwaukee by far) just offers an organization so much in terms of access to resources that a metro of less-than-2 million never could.

Chicago isn't the third largest city "by far." Actually Houston, TX is inching closer at about 2 million. Chicago is 2.9 million.

The metro area is still a little under 10 million. Depends on how you count it. Theres been threads like this time and time again on those actual figures.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Chicago isn't the third largest city "by far." Actually Houston, TX is inching closer at about 2 million. Chicago is 2.9 million.

For items like this though - considering the context of the subject and discussion therein with this thread, the size of the city's boundaries itself is completely irrelevant.

For example:

Atlanta isn't a big city population-wise at all...however, "Atlanta" (meaning the metro) is one of the biggest / most important fiscal / economic regions in the US. Atlanta is a city of less than 500K, but the metro is over 5-million.

El Paso, TX has a bigger population than Denver CO. Surely though, in terms of commerce, economics and transportation, etc., near-3 million metro Denver is a much different ballpark than 700K metro El Paso.

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

The metro area is still a little under 10 million. Depends on how you count it.

Well, whether it is 9.6 million or 10.2 million, it is still by far the 3rd biggest metro in the US.

The 4th is Dallas / Fort Worth at a hare over 6.1 million, and then Philly (5.5 million) and Houston (5.5 million). There is still a huge / significant difference between Chicago and #4 through everyone else.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by quijote

Too bad MKE lost those exec/admin jobs, but I'm glad they're at least going to Chicago and not Dallas.

Agreed 100%.

Milwaukee and Chicago, while across state lines, are practically joined at the hip in a lot of ways. While the overall economic boost of this move for Chicago, probably won't affect Milwaukee directly, it pays to keep in mind that the production facility in Milwaukee will be very, very close to the home office which doesn't hurt anything. And overall, the CMSA (Milwaukee-Chicago-Gary) area gets another major world-class company and employer.

The downside is the (presumably) better paying white collar jobs that are probably going to be moving.