Weyerhaeuser to move headquarters, nearly 900 jobs from Federal Way to Seattle

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- Weyerhaeuser Co. announced Tuesday that it will move its headquarters and its nearly 900 workers from Federal Way to Seattle's Pioneer Square in mid  to late 2016.


“There are two main drivers for this decision, which we made after thorough analysis of various options for the location of our headquarters,” said Doyle R. Simons, president and CEO.

“First, our 430-acre campus in Federal Way is costly and too large for our needs," he said. "Second, moving our headquarters to Seattle will give us access to a larger talent pool to meet future recruiting needs, not just in this region, but from across the country.”

The company will divest the land and buildings it owns in Federal Way, it said.

It will move into a new building to be built at 200 Occidental Ave., in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood.

“Weyerhaeuser has a long successful history in Federal Way,” Simons said. “We’ve attracted great people to work here and this campus has served us well. Moving to Seattle is an important step forward for us and I’m excited about the opportunities it will bring to our company and employees.”

King County Councilman Pete von Reichbauer compared the news to the taste of lemons.

“I have been in touch with United States Congressman Adam Smith and Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell, and we are going to meet in the next seven days to discuss how the federal, county and city governments can work together to make lemonade out of lemons," von Reichbauer said.

However, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray welcomed to company to the city's Pioneer Square area.

"This is a game-changer for Pioneer Square," Murray said at a news conference. It will help the area's economy, he said with the "nearly 900 jobs that come with" the movement of the headquarters.



Weyerhaeuser, one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900. The company owns or controls nearly 7 million acres of timberlands, primarily in the U.S., and manage another 14 million acres under long-term licenses in Canada.

The company, also one of the largest manufacturers of wood and cellulose fibers products, employs about 13,000 people.