(Crain’s) — The Onion is planning to move its top editorial staff from New York to the paper’s corporate headquarters in Chicago. Seriously.

"We're still in the very early stages of this process, but we're looking forward to eventually having everyone under one roof in Chicago," a spokeswoman for the Onion said.

The satirical paper and website, a unit of Onion Inc., employs about 20 editorial, web and sales personnel in a Manhattan office, which was opened in 2001. Onion CEO Steve Hannah declined to comment.

The Huffington Post first reported news of the planned move, citing staffers, some of whom said they were “blindsided” by the decision. (They shouldn’t have been. In 2010, the Onion reported: “8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize New York City A Horrible Place To Live.”)

The Onion moved its corporate HQ to River North in late 2007, transferring employees from Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Madison, Wis. It was founded in 1988 in Madison by two University of Wisconsin juniors.