Mike Wolanin | The Republic Cummins employees walk to the newly remodeled workspace in the Cummins Corporate Office building in Columbus, Ind., pictured Tuesday, July 23, 2019.
Republic file photo Cummins Inc. Corporate Office Building in downtown Columbus is shown in this file photo from 2021.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — Some downtown businesses haven’t yet seen the foot traffic they expected when Cummins reopened its downtown offices but remain hopeful for a new beginning after the pandemic upended operations.
On Monday, Cummins Inc. officially reopened its Indiana offices for the first time since COVID-19 barreled across the state over two years ago, though the company held a voluntary pilot return-to-the-office program last year.
Currently, it’s unclear how many Cummins workers are returning to the office or how often. Company officials previously said that many of its workers will have a hybrid schedule, meaning that they will work part of the time in the office and part of the time at home or elsewhere.
Cummins spokesman Jon Mills said the company was not ready to say how many employees were expected to return to the office but added that Cummins would possibly be able to provide an update later in the week.
Cummins employs about 8,000 people in the Columbus area, including its corporate headquarters, which historically could hold up to 1,200 employees, according to the company’s website.
However, there were some signs of an increase in downtown workers on Monday, including reports that the Bartholomew County Public Library parking lot was more full than usual.
Before the pandemic, many downtown workers would park there and walk to their offices a few blocks away.
Library director Jason Hatton said the parking lot had been emptier than normal during much of the pandemic but recently started filling up again as more downtown workers started returning to their offices.
There seemed to be fewer parking slots available on Monday than last week, Hatton said. However, it’s hard to say for sure how much of that is attributable to Cummins workers.
“When I came in this morning, yes, it was difficult to find a parking spot,” Hatton said.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
