CORPORATE RELOCATION: Off to That Toddling Town

Since 1900 the names Akron and Firestone have gone together like a matched set of steel-belted radials. Back then, Harvey Firestone chose the Ohio city as home for what is now the nation's No. 2 tiremaker. But Firestone Chairman John Nevin is treading on tradition with his plan to move the head office to Chicago later this year. Nevin's explanation: the Windy City is a financial, retailing and transportation hub. It is also near Winnetka, Ill., where Nevin's family lives in a house he visits monthly.

Akron is stunned at the loss of about 450 jobs. Mayor Don Plusquellic tried to dissuade Nevin from making the move, but found him "adamant." Two shareholder lawsuits seek to block the relocation. They charge that it would waste money and that Firestone directors did not let shareholders in on the decision.