Nokia Mapping Unit Moving to Downtown Chicago, Hiring 100

Chicago’s getting more tech jobs with the news that Nokia will move its Mobile Phones Xpress Internet Services from suburban Itasca to downtown, reports the Chicago Tribune. 

The 150 employees will move to 425 W. Randolph St., where the Finnish technology company has its Chicago office, its largest office in North America. It also will add 100 jobs to its Location & Commerce unit, the business from its 2008 acquisition of digital mapping company Navteq.

The influx of employees, part of its push for mapping services on mobile phones and in-dash vehicle navigation systems, will raise the headcount at the downtown site to close to 1,500.

Job aggregator Indeed lists 75 open positions with Nokia Location & Commerce in Chicago, including software engineers and system architects.

Nokia’s offices aren’t far from the Merchandise Mart along the Chicago River where Motorola Mobility also will move from the suburbs. It originally said it would move 3,000 people from Libertyville, but new parent Google announced plans to cut 4,000 positions worldwide, 750 from the Libertyville staff.

Meanwhile, 21 other Chicago-based technology companies have committed to creating more than 2,000 jobs by 2015 and the city is planning a super-high-speed “gigabit” network to attract more business.