And banks don't want to finance smaller mortgages because they carry more risk for less profit. But as Ferguson researched the lack of affordable places, he was told that contractors don't want to build smaller homes because there's not much profit in them. In a 2021 company survey, 136 people said they were interested in buying a house.
"And you're trying to hire young people to come, and there's no place to live." "Availability of labor is just really short," says Steve Ferguson, chairman of the board of Cook Group, the parent company of Cook Medical. Cook employees were having to live farther out, meaning increasingly long commutes. Older, cheaper homes often get snapped up by buyers with cash, and they might need expensive upgrades. There hasn't been much new housing for years, and what has been built is too pricey for plant workers on hourly wages. The entire county's population is only about 20,000. The town is tiny, just a few blocks around a central square.
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Jennifer Ludden/NPR Cook plans to build 99 houses in Spencer, plus another couple of hundred in a different county, where many workers commute to its plant in Bloomington. It offers solid jobs that don't require a college degree, but many of its workers can hardly afford to live near Spencer. Based in nearby Bloomington, it manufactures medical devices like catheters and needles, part of a booming global industry. It's tough being a big employer where there's "no place to live"Ĭook is by far the largest employer in the area, with some 700 people at its Spencer plant alone. "I would have never imagined I could have a new house on what I make, but I can," she says. It's an incredible opportunity for Jones, who has been with the company nearly four years and - with extra pay for the swing shift and her work as a trainer - makes just over $20 an hour. "I can see us helping each other out if we need it and that it's going to be a community."Ĭook is offering these homes to employees at below-market prices. As Jones visits, a construction crew is pouring concrete driveways.Īt first, she wasn't sure she wanted to see work colleagues on her off-hours. Two rows of clapboard ranch homes - 14 so far - now line a dirt road. In Spencer, Cook's brand-new subdivision, Pike Place, is taking shape in what used to be a wheat field. Jennifer Ludden/NPR The first 14 homes of a larger subdivision being built in Spencer, Ind., by Cook Group, the parent company of Cook Medical, will be ready for occupancy this summer. The trend underscores the scale of the country's affordable housing shortage and the ripple effects it has on the wider economy. Elon Musk is reportedly planning a new neighborhood in Texas for employees of his companies SpaceX, Tesla and Boring. They include big names like Disney and Meta, the meatpacker JBS and local school systems and health care providers. So a growing number of employers around the country have decided to build their own housing for workers, mostly for them to rent but sometimes to buy. Record-high job openings and low unemployment have made the competition worse, fueling staff shortages. have skyrocketed, more companies are finding it harder to recruit and retain middle-income workers. "This is as big as my room now," she says.Ĭook's move isn't purely philanthropic. She marvels at the Lazy Susan cabinet in the kitchen, the lush green view of the backyard and the size of the primary-bedroom closet.
"It's so beautiful!" she says, walking around to check out every detail. On a recent afternoon before her shift, she's bursting with excitement as she gets her first visit inside the nearly finished three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch house. When Cook announced a year ago that it would build hundreds of homes to sell to employees at below-market prices, Jones was among the first to sign up. But she hasn't been able to find a place she can afford on her own, so at age 47, she's squeezed in with her sister's family. Tommie Jones loves her job as a quality control inspector for Cook Medical in rural Spencer, Indiana.
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