ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — City leaders and community partners across the St. Louis region are working on ways to continue a relationship with Emerson Electric now that the manufacturer has announced plans to move its headquarters out of Ferguson, Missouri.
The manufacturing giant, which creates automation products and provides engineering services, announced plans this week to sell its current 200-acre campus in Ferguson.
There have been conversations about Emerson's plans and what they could mean for the region but the manufacturer has said St. Louis is not completely out of the picture.
As the company changes its landscape, local community partners want them to know they still have their support.
County Executive Dr. Sam Page told 5 On Your Side on Friday he had a number of meetings with the company's government affairs team and corporate partners since the announcement was made.
“We've all been talking this week to make sure that as Emerson changes their model and refocuses on newer technology, that we can make sure that St. Louis remains their home," Page said.
The company said it wants to "create a higher value, cohesive industrial technology portfolio and to become a pure-play global automation company serving a diversified set of end markets."
Page wants to make sure St. Louis stays on their radar.
“A lot of that technology will have support services that are naturally available in St. Louis. We're building a new advanced manufacturing workforce development program in St. Louis City and St. Louis County,” Page continued.
The relationship runs deeper than just the employment of more than 1,300 people.
In March of this year, Emerson announced it would pledge $200 million of its charitable contributions over the next ten years to help address education inequity.
When asked if the sale would interfere with those efforts, a spokesperson responded, “we remain committed to this initiative.”
The spokesperson added that the company will explore headquarters options, in St. Louis and elsewhere and that they were just beginning the process of conducting the assessment.
Our team has made multiple attempts to reach the City of Ferguson on the move but has not heard back.