Adecco moving North American headquarters from Jacksonville to thriving Atlanta

[DTWD_NW904]

Hate to see the company leaving, especially for the aforementioned reasons.....

[bl8jaxnative]

Meh.

They're moving the North American headquarters.  A few suits that used to travel half the time andfly through Atlnta 90% of the time when they travelled will now work out of an office of Sandy Springs and hve direct flights to use. 

Note that they're not moving all the other stuff.

[marcuscnelson]

In general, I think UF is close enough that we need to find a way to better connect Gainesville to Jacksonville, to the point that it's easy to jump from one to the other and it's considered less of a "distant place." I don't know if Tallahassee investing in a direct rail line or a new highway or something is the way to do that, but a way should be searched for. In the very long run (I'm talking decades here) I like to imagine that the region between Duval and Alachua County growing together is a realistic possibility if we put some effort into it.

The Starke bypass has actually been really helpful in getting to Gainesville faster. It's just over an hour from where I live on the west side, so it's not really that distant even without a direct route. I even know people who commute to Gainesville from Jax and OP.

Although I can appreciate the economic benefits, I'd hate to this corridor get built up too much for environmental reasons. That area is actually an important wildlife cooridor since it connects Ocala and Osceola National Forests.

I'm well aware of the bypass, I've driven it whenever I've gone between home and campus (not so much in the COVID days).

In general, I think UF is close enough that we need to find a way to better connect Gainesville to Jacksonville, to the point that it's easy to jump from one to the other and it's considered less of a "distant place." I don't know if Tallahassee investing in a direct rail line or a new highway or something is the way to do that, but a way should be searched for. In the very long run (I'm talking decades here) I like to imagine that the region between Duval and Alachua County growing together is a realistic possibility if we put some effort into it.

Marcus, recalled this old thread from 2009 on this very subject!  Enjoy the read  .

Replace Outer Beltway with New Link To Gainesville, I-75, Tampa:  https://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,4269.0.html

Interesting to see a lot of the same ideas that long ago. Especially this point from Lake:

I think some portions of the rail line between Jax and Gainesville have been removed.  Nevertheless, 301 is good enough for auto transit.  If better transportation is desired between Jax and Gainesville, rail should be explored.

[thelakelander]

^12 years later and I still believe 301 is fine. We don't need to spent billions on a highway between Gainesville and Jax.

[RiversideRambler]

Meh.

They're moving the North American headquarters.  A few suits that used to travel half the time andfly through Atlnta 90% of the time when they travelled will now work out of an office of Sandy Springs and hve direct flights to use. 

Note that they're not moving all the other stuff.

This^^^

There really wasn't much Jax could've done here except magically turn JIA into a real international airport.

[vicupstate]

Meh.

They're moving the North American headquarters.  A few suits that used to travel half the time andfly through Atlnta 90% of the time when they travelled will now work out of an office of Sandy Springs and hve direct flights to use. 

Note that they're not moving all the other stuff.

This^^^

There really wasn't much Jax could've done here except magically turn JIA into a real international airport.

If flights alone were all they cared about, would they have ever come to JAX in the first place? JAX has only added flights since they opened, right?  They never mentioned it themselves, either.

[Steve]

Remember, Adecco bought MPS Group. MPS was a domestic company started in Jacksonville. Adecco is foreign owned.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ And MPS (Modis) was the successor to AccuStaff, founded by Delores Kesler:

https://www.floridatrend.com/print/article/5766

[marcuscnelson]

The article finally hit Twitter, and some takes are being given.

[Pottsburg]

How many jobs will the city lose if you include people who decide to move to Atlanta combined with layoffs?

[RiversideRambler]

How many jobs will the city lose if you include people who decide to move to Atlanta combined with layoffs?

I don't think there's any planned layoffs since they're keeping corporate functions in Jax. Might lose a few execs to Atlanta but that should be the extent of it.

[marcuscnelson]

The bigger concern is likely the future jobs that are being lost. They've been pretty clear about moving because they feel the potential and talent is in Atlanta. And who knows how long they're actually going to keep an office here once they've settled in up there.

[landfall]

The bigger concern is likely the future jobs that are being lost. They've been pretty clear about moving because they feel the potential and talent is in Atlanta. And who knows how long they're actually going to keep an office here once they've settled in up there.

Its pure naivety to dismiss this as a "few suits" moving to Atlanta as others have suggested. Jacksonville is not in a position to be losing any high paying jobs, and as you suggest, this won't be the last of it, slowly withdrawing and maintaining a presence here, albeit of lower paying jobs helps them stem the PR hit of a full scale full throttle move in one go, and demonstrate they're "still committed" because they're not moving some customer service jobs yet. Death by a thousand cuts on the way. Positions eliminated or headed north.

Nate is also spot on if the shoe was on the other foot we'd have been hailing this success. I find it so funny that despite there seemingly never having been a better time to do business in Florida. A state with few restrictions, low cost of living, great weather, but er, it feels like I'm in Toledo or Peoria.

[marcuscnelson]

Nate is also spot on if the shoe was on the other foot we'd have been hailing this success. I find it so funny that despite there seemingly never having been a better time to do business in Florida. A state with few restrictions, low cost of living, great weather, but er, it feels like I'm in Toledo or Peoria.

In all fairness, business is doing great in Florida... as long as you're in Miami, which is desperately trying to become the Bitcoin capital & tech hub outside of Austin.

[Pottsburg]

Yes, if people want to say it's just a few suits then they are keeping their heads in the sand.  Companies across the US have been waiting to slash the fat from their workforce. No one wanted to seem like the bad guy and layoff during the pandemic.  It's a new year now and cuts will have to be made.  Example you have a large customer service center in Jax which pays employees $18-25 an hour. Large companies have had to shell out and buy these people laptops and pay for their home internet service while still paying rent on a building they can't use.  There are countless examples and I think companies will get creative in the way they try and hide the cuts.  If I have a corporate office and I want to move it to Atlanta, I offer the people I want to retain a moving expense or a bonus. If it's 5000 jobs but only 4500 move with the company then I've just eliminated 500 jobs without a big press release.  IMO companies don't want to be the first to cut, they want to see the initial reaction, and then fill in with the crowd.