Cummins Inc. has unveiled plans to launch a pilot program to bring a group of downtown Columbus employees back to the workplace in what company officials said could pave the way to a phased reopening of offices that have largely been vacant for more than a year.

Starting Monday, a group of employees will return to Cummins’ corporate headquarters in downtown Columbus to participate in the voluntary pilot effort, which is expected to last about six weeks, Cummins spokesman Jon Mills said.

It’s not known exactly how many employees have opted to participate in the pilot program, but 1,500 received invitations, Mills said.

However, any number of workers back at their offices could have major implications for downtown businesses that have relied for years on foot traffic from employees of the Bartholomew County’s largest employer and have fallen on hard times since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, sending workers home.

Cummins employs about 8,000 people in the Columbus area and has several offices downtown, including its corporate headquarters, which can accommodate around 1,000 workers.

Currently, no dates have been set for when other employees might return to the office once the pilot is finished, but any eventual return to the workplace will be done on a site and regional basis based on a number of factors, including employee safety, Mills said.

The pilot participants were required to provide proof of being vaccinated against COVID-19, though the company will not store any employee information or data, Mills said.

“The idea is that if all goes well (the pilot) will be expanded and not ended, and the goal is that we can begin to look beyond the pandemic and reopen offices in a strategic, phased approach,” he said.

The announcement came as large companies around the country mull the extent to which they will transition away from the remote work they put in place for workers due to the pandemic.

Experts say the pandemic has normalized remote work, which could continue to be a trend even after it is safe to return to the office.

Recent surveys show most businesses in the United States believe the massive shift to remote work is largely here to stay with very few companies, just more than 1 in 10, expecting all of their remote employees to return to their prepandemic work arrangements, according to a January survey by the National Association of Business Economics.

Some companies, such as Salesforce, which employs about 2,100 in Indianapolis, have announced all of their workers would have the option to continue working remotely full time even after the pandemic subsides.

Others, including Amazon, have set tentative dates in the fall for workers to return to the office, while some are initiating pilot programs that will be re-evaluated in the future, including Apple Inc., Bloomberg News reported.

However, some questions still remain about what Cummins’ new normal will look like, including when and how many downtown workers will return to the office and how often they will be there.

Cummins has been the process of categorizing each role in the company as fully on-site, fully remote or a hybrid between the two based on the nature of the work with the majority expected to be hybrid, Mills said in an earlier interview.

In mid-June, company officials expect to release the job categorizations to managers, who have been directed to have conversations with their employees by the end of July, according to an email sent to employees this week.

A ‘game-changer’

The news of Cummins’ pilot program was seen by downtown business owners and city officials as a sign of good things to come.

Before the pandemic, downtown Columbus was filled with workers, who would pour out of their offices and into nearby restaurants during their lunch breaks, some visiting retailers along Washington Street or checking in to fitness centers to take yoga and spinning classes and grabbing drinks at local bars after work.

But since the coronavirus swept across the state and community, downtown Columbus has grown much quieter.

Cummins officials have said in previous interviews the company remains “absolutely committed” to the vibrancy of downtown Columbus.

For Tony Wittman, who co-owns Ramen Alley, 217 Washington St., with his wife, Bonnie, the return of some downtown Cummins workers could be a “game-changer” for the restaurant, which opened about a month before COVID.

During that month, he said at least a quarter of the restaurant’s customers were Cummins employees.

“For us, it would be huge,” Wittman said. “We really opened the restaurant kind of with that in mind. … We’ve done pretty well, but yeah, Cummins employees back I believe would be kind of a game-changer for us.”

For Jay Cole, owner of Gramz Bakery and Cafe, 409 Washington St., the return of Cummins employees will be a positive for the downtown.

Cole said about 60% to 65% of his customers before the pandemic were Cummins employees, but that dramatically declined during the pandemic, forcing him to build up a new customer base over the past year.

“It’s just definitely going to be a good positive for sure, for all of us,” Cole said.

Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop welcomed the announcement from Cummins, characterizing the pilot program as good news for the city and downtown businesses.

“I’m happy that they’re comfortable doing that,” Lienhoop said. “We’ve been waiting for a while to see how things will reopen in the downtown area, so I’ll treat this as good news. … We’ve got a number of companies that bring employees downtown, and so hopefully, everyone will do so safely when it’s appropriate. Cummins has always been a good employer, a good corporate citizen, so if they give us a lead that perhaps the rest of us can follow, I’m happy to see that.”

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