ARLINGTON, Va. – Global nutrition, health and wellness company, Nestlé USA has announced that it will transition its corporate headquarters to Arlington County, Virginia, later this year. The move is expected to bring roughly 750 jobs to the Washington, DC, area. Commitment to future investment and growth in the US, response to the changing food industry and closer proximity to the bulk of its businesses and stakeholders were noted as reasons for the subsidiary of Nestlé SA’s move.

“With the food and beverage landscape continuing to transform at a rapid pace, Nestlé has been innovating and making strategic changes to the business over the past five years. This move is the next step in our evolution,” said Paul Grimwood, chairman and CEO of Nestlé USA in a statement. “We carefully considered a number of options and Arlington hits all the marks. Not only is it attractive to our current employees while offering a great talent pool for the future, but this location allows us to be closer to our business operations, our customers and other important stakeholders.”

Nestlé USA hopes the move east from its current Glendale, California, home will facilitate important conversations with regulatory groups and organizations pertinent to business in the Washington DC, area. In addition, 75 percent of Nestlé USA’s factories and 85 percent of its top customers are located in the eastern half of the US with 80 percent of the company’s products sold east of the Mississippi River.

Nestlé and Virginia leaders worked together to confirm the move. The new headquarters will reside in the tallest building in the metro area at 1812 North Moore Street in Rosslyn, Virginia. Corporate functions, the Beverage and Confections & Global Foods divisions, as well as its expanding eBusiness team, Center for Marketing Excellence and team of nutrition experts will all be housed in the new location. Completion of the move is expected by the end of 2018.  

The company will stay loyal to California and maintains approximately 5,500 employees there, along with purchasing $800 million in goods and services annually. Nestlé Dreyer’s Ice Cream, Nestlé Purina PetCare and Nestlé Waters North America manufacturing facilities, nine in total, still reside in California.

“Nestlé is proud of our American heritage. Many of our brands have been staples in Americans’ kitchens for decades, from evaporated milk and chocolate to coffee and tea to prepared foods and pizza,” Grimwood said. “With 87 manufacturing facilities across the US, we source ingredients and make our foods and beverages as close to the consumer as possible. This is an integral element of our “Creating Shared Value” strategy. Our growth over the past 150 years has enabled us to improve the lives of millions of people through the products and services we provide, employment opportunities, our supplier networks and the economic contributions we make here in the US.”

In line with getting closer to its businesses by moving corporate headquarters east, Nestlé USA will also move its Technical & Production organization and all Supply Chain teams to its multi-functional Solon, Ohio campus.

Grimwood went on to say, “…The moves announced today are designed to allow us to work even smarter, fueling growth for our bright future, and we’re pleased to continue that growth and investment here in Ohio and in Solon, where both Gov. John Kasich and Mayor Susan Drucker have welcomed our efforts.”

The Harper Road building, built in 1969 in the Cleveland suburb of Solon, provides employment to over 2,000 people and will undergo a complete renovation to meet the needs of the incoming functional groups and will adopt the Nestlé Global Workplace Standard, already in place in Nestlé offices in Milan, Copenhagen and Warsaw.

Also managed on the Solon campus are Buitoni refrigerated pastas and sauces; DiGiorno, California Pizza Kitchen, Tombstone, and Jack’s frozen pizzas, Hot Pockets and Lean Pockets sandwiches, Nestlé Toll House morsels, baking ingredients, refrigerated and frozen cookie dough, and baking kits; Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin and Nestlé Carnation milks (evaporated, sweetened condensed and nonfat dry), among other business services and operations.