IBM Canada Opens New Office in Downtown Toronto

TORONTO, April 25, 2022 – IBM Canada (NYSE: IBM) on Monday, officially opened its new office at 16 York right in Toronto’s downtown core across from Union Station and Scotiabank Arena. The office merges four Toronto-based offices into a single flexible workspace. The new office includes an AI and hybrid cloud client showcase centre, collaboration spaces for use by both employees and clients, and space for IBM Garage, a globally recognized design approach to innovation and digital transformation.

The new state-of-the-art office space is spread over three floors and approximately 63,000 square feet.
It was designed with a focus on innovation, inclusion, and sustainability to support new ways of working with clients and teams as part of a hybrid working model.

The decision to transition to a hub design was accelerated over the past year when virtual work environments became commonplace. “We envision a flexible return-to-work model,” said Claude Guay, Managing Partner, Global Ventures, Ecosystem and Acquisitions, when the office project was announced last June. “A great deal has changed over the last 15 months, and we have heard from our employees that flexibility between home and office work environments is important to them. Continuing to support that work-life balance for IBMers is a priority for us as a company.”

He also recognized that how the company interacts with clients has changed. “The past year has shown us that, while not every meeting must happen in person, there are certain situations when being face-to-face is invaluable,” said Guay. “The client showcase centre and collaborative spaces will facilitate even more teamwork and innovation, investments that will deliver additional value for our customers.”

Mayor John Tory joined in the grand opening festivities in the afternoon. “Today, IBM Canada opened up a new office in Toronto! This is a vote on confidence in our economy and testament to the returning energy of our downtown core. As we rebuild from the pandemic, this office will help create new jobs and foster new industry opportunities for our city,” said Tory.

IBM creates 800 new jobs

The larger space at 16 York was designed to accommodate some of the new employees who have filled 500 job openings in the Greater Toronto Area, although IBM Canada actually ended up surpassing those hiring expectations released last June, filling approximately 800 job positions within the past six months across a range of job functions in the Greater Toronto Area. The company recruited people with specific industry-leading technology skills for various areas of its business, including the IBM Technology unit, IBM Services, IBM Garage and more.

“With Ontario as the second largest IT cluster in North America, tech innovators like IBM are pivotal to the modernization of our economy,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “IBM’s investment will create hundreds of jobs, boost our competitiveness in the tech and AI sectors, and help Ontario’s economy emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever before.”

“The new IBM office is exciting news for our city,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory. “Despite the challenges we have faced during the pandemic, this new office is a testament to the strength and attraction of our city’s core. We know that the opening of new offices like the one by IBM will play a big role in the reopening of our city and the rebuilding of our economy as we look to safely restart our city. Every new office opening helps as we restart our lively and vibrant city.”

The new workplace is being specifically designed to be open, flexible and created for collaboration, with a choice of break-out spaces, meeting areas and private booths. Workplace health and safety considerations have also been a top priority in the design.

The 16 York building is situated at the core of downtown Toronto, central to Union Station and mass transit. It has also been designed to LEED Platinum and International Well Institute guidelines for environmental and workplace excellence.

The company’s Canadian headquarters will remain in Markham.

lead photo Toronto Mayor John Tory, Dave McCann IBM Canada President, photo by Monica Healy/The Canadian Press

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