GE Capital Adding 1,000 Chicago Jobs, Mayor Rahm Emanuel Announces

In a first piece of good economic news for Chicago's new mayor, Rahm Emanuel announced Monday that the financial services arm of General Electric would be adding 1,000 jobs in the city, nearly doubling its Chicago-based workforce.

“Pound for pound, Chicago provides a lot of value for us and is a great place to be," said Daniel Henson, president and CEO of GE Capital, Americas, to the Chicago Tribune.

Mayor Emanuel has known the CEO of General Electric, Jeffrey Immelt, for some time, dating back to his days in the White House and as Congressman from Chicago's North Side. "I called him and asked, ‘While you’re in town, do you want to grab a drink?’" Emanuel said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "Now, obviously having that experience and having both his email and his phone number was an advantage."

But he went on to say that GE wouldn't have made the investment as a favor. "If this didn't make economic sense to GE and their bottom line, they wouldn't have done it," Emanuel said.

Both he and executives at GE said that Emanuel's fiscal plan for the city -- which includes addressing a massive $500-plus-million deficit -- would take Chicago in the right direction and create a pro-business environment.

According to an Associated Press report, the first 500 of the new jobs will come in within the next year, in commercial, regulatory and technical positions. The other half of the jobs will be added over the several years following.

In addition to the 1,000 employees already in Chicago, GE Capital has another three thousand elsewhere in the state, WBEZ reports.

Comments

[Cwalshjr]

11:42 AM on 06/02/2011

The goes the double standard, What tax breaks were given to GE that all you Dems hate?

[UKNOWHOW ICM]

06:36 PM on 05/25/2011

Are the executive and managerial jobs already promised to supporters cousins and nannies?

[Matt Herren]

11:36 AM on 06/02/2011

It wouldn't be Chicago without that...

[westreal]

01:40 PM on 05/24/2011

"the financial services arm of General Electric would be adding 1,000"

Financial services jobs are not real jobs. We need manufacturing jobs. Teachers. Exporters. Financial services jobs is a smokescreen and like numbers in accounting are as fluid as the company is willing to make them.

[frant52]

11:06 AM on 05/25/2011

If you were unemployed in the financial field, a financial service job is a real job! Anything that moves toward employment in any field is a step in the right direction.
I agree we need manufacturing jobs, but we need a lot of jobs.

[robert horwitz]

08:52 AM on 05/24/2011

Am I mistaken or doesn't Chicago already have enough crooked financial institutions to steal our money without adding another thousand crooks to the mix?

[penndl]

12:02 PM on 05/24/2011

GE Capital is an investment company. Would you turn down a gift of 10,000 shares of its stock? Them being crooks and thieves and all...:)

[robert horwitz]

12:59 PM on 05/24/2011

No I wouldn't turn it down. When did they offer it to me?

[themodernleader]

08:48 PM on 05/23/2011

  We have at least twice as many financial types as our justified inahelathy, producing economy.  Adding a few hundred more to the City and State will result in a more horrendous collapse when the Fed cuts the money supply for America's last harrah. 
   We need manufacturing jobs.  We need public works programs creating millions of jobs.  We need a new,  fair economic system for all Americans.  We don't need more GE credit schemes.

[47th]

11:12 PM on 05/23/2011

Amen. If we as a society, do not figure out how to bring manufacturing jobs back to this country, our last hurrah will be a whimper. The people and communities in this city that really need jobs are not going to benefit from this.

[penndl]

11:59 AM on 05/24/2011

Manufacturing jobs are no longer the backbone of the American economy. Services industry employment accounts for 76% of the GDP, which was predicted 40 years ago. Here are the current statistics from the World factbook at cia.gov. The Mayor is doing the right thing on this one.

GDP:
agriculture: 1.2%
industry: 22.2%
services: 76.7% (2010 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
farming, forestry, and fishing: 0.7%
manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts: 20.3%
managerial, professional, and technical: 37.3%
sales and office: 24.2%
other services: 17.6%

[47th]

10:06 PM on 05/24/2011

You are right, manufacturing is no longer the backbone of our economy. That is why our economy has a broken back!

[themodernleader]

11:41 PM on 05/24/2011

    The belief that a viable citizentry can reside in a service dominated economy is sheer fantasy.  President Regan started that false rumor.  Industry supports a viable service industry. Without industry, services become exclusively for an elite.

[BushBites]

08:35 PM on 05/23/2011

He going to be a good mayor.

[CleanEatingVeg]

09:50 PM on 05/23/2011

hope so!