Office Depot's HQ move could cost 1,600 Illinois jobs

Rep. Darlene Senger is concerned
about those who will be losing their
jobs with the Office Depot move.

Office Depot Inc.'s decision to base itself in Boca Raton, Fla., instead of Naperville, where predecessor entity OfficeMax Inc. had its headquarters, puts some 1,600 west suburban jobs at risk.

The timing of the move remains uncertain, but Naperville city officials noted that the office supply retailer, created by the merger of OfficeMax Inc. and Office Depot Inc.last month, has two and a half years left on its lease of its 344,000-square-foot former HQ. An Office Depot spokeswoman declined to comment on how many people ultimately will be let go.

"The whole city of Naperville is saddened by the fact that OfficeMax and Office Depot have decided to move to Boca Raton," Naperville Mayor George Pradel said in an interview this morning. "In addition to being Naperville's sixth-largest employer, they do all kinds of community work for our schools." Read the rest of the story by Brigid Sweeney in Crains.