GREENFIELD — Local leaders expressed surprise and disappointment over Elanco Animal Health’s plans to move its headquarters out of the city to Indianapolis in the coming years.

Although the company had been conducting a nationwide search for a new headquarters for months, local officials were not aware of it, and the Greenfield city government did not receive much advance notice about the major announcement.

Greenfield Mayor Chuck Fewell said he received news of the move on the evening of Thursday, Dec. 3, when he received a call from Eric Steiner, Elanco’s senior director of government affairs.

“That’s the first I’d heard of it,” Fewell said. “…It came as a shock.”

City council members, county council members, and county commissioners said they did not receive any advance notice. Greenfield City Council president Kerry Grass said he had “no idea” news of a relocation was coming.

“The city, as far as I know, had no notification,” he said. “…I’m devastated to see Elanco moving away from Greenfield.”

County council member Jim Shelby said he had been aware that for the past few months, representatives from Elanco had not been in touch with officials from either the county or the Greenfield city government.

“I guess now we know why,” Shelby said.

However, Shelby added, many of the company’s current employees, especially at the executive level, do not actually live in Hancock County.

County council president Bill Bolander said he was not entirely surprised to learn that Elanco was relocating its headquarters. He was surprised, he said, by the location the company chose.

“I can’t imagine their employees will be thrilled about moving down to inner-city Indianapolis when they have such a great campus here,” he said.

The company’s headquarters site is considered a prime redevelopment area and is close to White River State Park and the Indianapolis Zoo.

Bolander said despite the potential for a new company to take over the headquarters building here, the relocation is “a huge loss for Greenfield.”

City council member Jeff Lowder was also unaware of the potential relocation prior to Friday. He said in an email that Elanco has been good to the Greenfield community and that he is sorry to see it go.

Fewell agreed that Elanco executives had not been communicative during the past few months. He added that the company has not had a very close relationship with the city during his time in office, though the city government always informs Elanco of changes that might impact it.

“I was disappointed that the Elanco administration didn’t reach out” before Thursday, Fewell said.

Fewell added that Elanco employees who live in Greenfield may choose to stay and commute to the Indianapolis facility.

“We certainly hope the residents decide to stay,” he said.

Randy Sorrell, executive director of the Hancock Economic Development Council, said he learned of Elanco’s decision Friday morning, but that he knew the company was exploring options since early this year.

“It’s certainly been a feather in our cap that a Fortune 500 company has had their headquarters here in our community, and we hate to see that go away,” said Sorrell, who estimated the company is among the county’s top 10 biggest employers. “But we are certainly happy that those folks will still be here, and they’ll be working and living here for the foreseeable future, and eventually when the jobs move, we think that the employees in our community will stay in this community and continue to be a part of our community.”

Eli Lilly and Co., which started in 1876, and Elanco have had a long history in the community, Sorrell noted.

“You’ve got people that have lived in this community that have been employed by either Eli Lilly or Elanco for the entire 20th century and the 21st century up to now,” he said.

The buildings will still be taxed, regardless of who operates in them, and Sorrell doesn’t anticipate the move having a significant effect on local income tax rolls.

“The ones that live here, we don’t anticipate them relocating,” he said of Elanco employees who are Hancock County residents.

Elanco paid more than $250,000 in personal property taxes on its equipment in Hancock County in 2020, however.

Steve Long, president and CEO of Hancock Regional Hospital and a member and past chair of the Hancock Economic Development Council’s board, said he was disappointed to learn Elanco is moving but glad it’s remaining in central Indiana.

After considering the company’s separation from Eli Lilly and Co. and its large acquisitions, the announcement didn’t come as a surprise to him.

“There’s always the question in the back of your mind: Is this the right place for them in the current configurations they’ve found themselves?” Long said.

Retta Livengood, president of the Greenfield Area Chamber of Commerce, said hearing the news about Elanco was not the way she wanted to start her Friday morning.

“I was not aware of any rumors,” Livengood said. “I guess, when you think about a company like Elanco being located in our community, there’s always that thought in the back of your head that they may leave at some point. The relationship here in Greenfield has been very long and it’s hopeful that it would’ve continued longer. I appreciate their growth and their plans they have for their vision, their company, but that leaves us a little trying to figure it all out and the impact on our community.”

Two Elanco employees — Betsy Bowman and Margaret Platter — serve on the chamber’s board of directors. Livengood said there have always been Elanco representatives on the board throughout her decade as the chamber’s president.

“We certainly value their impact on our chamber and in our community and certainly on our board of directors,” Livengood said. “They will be missed. They’ve been such a strong member of our community for so long.”
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