Fifth Third Bank moving hundreds of Madisonville employees to Downtown HQ. What to know
Downtown is getting a boost from Fifth Third Bank — again.
Fifth Third will relocate hundreds of employees from its Madisonville campus to its Fountain Square headquarters, a company spokesperson confirmed. That means hundreds of more people are on the way to support businesses and services Downtown.
Fifth Third Bank is one of Cincinnati's Fortune 500 companies and a major regional employer, numbering 7,500 workers across local departments in 2018. The Madisonville campus, which includes their Madisonville Office Building and their Madisonville Operations Center, is their biggest campus with close to 5,000 employees. But those numbers will soon change.
Related: Fifth Third Bank closes 3 Greater Cincinnati branches, plans to grow in Southeast markets
The bank plans to move roughly 350 employees from the Madisonville Office Building to Downtown. The relocation started in mid-January, and the company expects everyone will be in place by mid-February.
The move will increase the number of employees at the headquarters to roughly 2,400.
Why is Fifth Third relocating employees?
Fifth Third sees the relocation as an opportunity to promote innovation and collaboration.
The bank will bring together IT, digital and product teams at their Fountain Square headquarters. This decision aligns with the company's current focus on modernizing their technology platforms.
The decision also fits nicely with the bank's investment in collaboration. The relocated employees will work on newly renovated floors of the Downtown building that feature open-floor plans and spaces for cross-functional teamwork. They will also be in the same building as the executive leadership, allowing corporate leaders to more easily interact with tech workers.
“At our core, we’re a relationship bank, and we value connections – with our customers, our communities and with one another," CEO Tim Spence said in a statement. "It’s important to our company culture that we spend time together in person so we can collaborate and share ideas in a space that inspires creativity.”
What is the impact of this on downtown Cincinnati?
The relocation of hundreds of employees offers a potential economic benefit to Downtown. This is something that Fifth Third recognizes.
“Every great city in the world has a vibrant urban core. Fountain Square is at the heart of Cincinnati, and our headquarters is right on it. We understand the role we need to play because of that," Spence said in a statement.
Fifth Third takes a role in the development of Downtown through initiatives like year-round programming at Fountain Square in conjunction with 3CDC and gifting the Fifth Third Center Stage on Fountain Square to Cincinnati.
"Bringing more people Downtown just adds to the support our employees provide by patronizing local restaurants and businesses during the week," Spence added.
Breathing life into Downtown is arguably part of the bank's history. According to their website, Fifth Third opened Fifth Third Center on Fountain Square in 1969 to help The Cincinnati Redevelopment Corporation trigger a revitalization of Downtown.
What is the impact of this on Madisonville?
While it's safe to say that this relocation has the opportunity to give Downtown a boost, it begs the question of whether it could hinder Madisonville. The Enquirer reached out to Kate Botos, president of the Madisonville Community Council, for comment but has yet to receive a response.
Even after the relocation is complete, however, 4,400 employees will remain at the Madisonville campus, still making it the bank's largest site.
The Enquirer will continue to update this story.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Over 300 Fifth Third Bank employees being relocated to Cincinnati HQ
