Kimberly-Clark adding 250 jobs in Chicago

Consumer products giant Kimberly-Clark will open an office for its North American business in Chicago’s Fulton Market district, bringing in 250 jobs, company and government officials said Wednesday.

Kimberly-Clark plans to lease space at 1155 W. Fulton St. in the spring of 2022. A spokesman said the jobs are moving from Neenah, Wisconsin.

“Chicago provides us the opportunity to grow Kimberly-Clark’s business and will position us closer to our outstanding retail partners, marketing and digital agencies and other service providers who already call Chicago home,” said Kurt Laufer, the company’s president of U.S. consumer sales.

The maker of diapers and toilet paper has 90 people working in the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, who will move to the new location next spring, a spokesman said. He added that because of the pandemic, company offices are closed and its employees are working from home.

The company headquarters remains in Irving, Texas. The jobs coming to Chicago will be in sales, marketing, executive management and other roles, the company said.

Kimberly-Clark will qualify for tax credits of between $9.5 million and $19.5 million over 10 years under the Illinois Edge program, said Lauren Huffman of the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The Edge credits are 50% of the state income tax attributable to the new jobs.

The 1155 W. Fulton building is renovated and totals 100,000 square feet. Most of the building was committed to WeWork for its shared office space business but financial trouble forced the company to scrap the deal. A venture of Domus Group and Barnett Capital owns the building.

Kimberly-Clark did not announce how much space it is occupying but it is expected to be almost all of the 87,000 square feet that was available.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued statements welcoming the company to Chicago and emphasizing the talent available in the region.