WSIB move bottom line: 100 net new jobs for London, 400 fewer jobs in core

Moving its head office jobs to downtown London would have been a $70-million hit for the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, the agency’s chief executive said Thursday.

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WSIB and city officials announced Thursday in London the agency is buying the former 3M office at 300 Tartan Dr. for $21 million, where it will house 500 workers when it opens in 2025.

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About 400 WSIB workers now located in downtown London on Fullarton Street will move to Tartan Drive and the workforce will grow there, said Jeff Lang, WSIB chief executive.

“This was a no-brainer. We would be handed over if we did not do this deal in London,” Lang said at a news conference at the former 3M office at which the WSIB move was announced.

“We are really excited to bring one of the largest insurers to London. We plan on being here for a long time.”’

The move has drawn criticism for not locating downtown where office vacancy is more than 27 per cent, but Lang said the office off Veterans Memorial Parkway will be a significant cost saving compared with a move to the core.

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Lang grew up in London and his family owned Roberts Holmes retail stores downtown

“I am committed to the city but I am also committed to WSIB and this is by far the best location for what we are trying to accomplish. It was a business decision.”

WSIB did an analysis about leasing space downtown and determined it would cost $70 million more over 10 years than buying the site on Tartan Drive, Lang said.

“They did not have suitable accommodations for us downtown without building,” he said.

Though the move will only mean a net gain of about 100 new jobs for London – with 400 moving from downtown – the head office here will grow over time, Lang said.

“All new job postings for the WSIB will be for London. . . It will be an evolution. We will not ask anyone to relocate but through attrition a majority of employees will be stationed out of this location.”

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WSIB and Ontario government officials said the new head office may generate up to 2,000 spin-off jobs in support industries over five years.

“It’s a win for London, a win for Southwestern Ontario, that is what this is all about,” Mayor Josh Morgan said.

“The confidence the government and WSIB have in our city and region has shown in their commitment to come to our city and buy a block of land. This is what we want in our city, good long-term jobs that are recession proof. “

David Piccini, Ontario minister of labor, immigration, training and skills development, said the move was made to save the government money as Toronto real estate is costly and the shift to London will result in significant savings.

“When we were looking at sites we wanted to make sure it was a cost-effective option,” he said.

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WSIB costs in London will be 40 per cent lower than in Toronto, Piccini said.

The move is also expected to bring more than $100 million a year to the local economy, he said.

The WSIB works with 300,000 businesses across Ontario, insuring 5.6 million workers.

The 3M site comes with 20 hectares (50 acres) of land and WSIB is open to partnering with the city for possible industrial use, Lang said.

“We clearly don’t need 50 acres, we are open to partnerships,” he said.

The agency will also partner with Fanshawe College and Western University on workforce training, on site in a “learning and development center of excellence,” Lang said.

WSIB has 4,600 workers across the province.

3M Canada is vacating its head office to search for new office space in the city. It had 800 employees on site.

The London Economic Development Corp. worked with WSIB to help them locate here.

“Our mission is to support employers. They narrowed the search to this facility, we are happy we were able to attract these quality head office positions that are hard to come by,” chief executive Kapil Lakhotia said.

“It is another way to diversify and build sustainability.”

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