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title: "Cummins Relocation Package: What Employees Actually Get" description: "Cummins covers relocation for eligible moves over 150–200 miles. Experienced hires report $7,000–$15,000 in managed full-service benefits, plus a potential sign-on bonus." author: "Sam Price" keywords:
If you're moving for a job at Cummins, you already know that relocation doesn't come cheap. The good news: Cummins doesn't leave you to figure it out alone. Based on employee accounts, the company covers relocation for most roles—but the specifics vary wildly depending on your level, where you're coming from, and where you're headed.
Cummins doesn't hand you a check and say "go find movers." Instead, they coordinate the whole thing through a third-party relocation company. Once your move is approved, most of the heavy lifting is handled for you.
A diesel tech who recently completed the move explained on Reddit that the third-party company "completely handled" everything—they scheduled the movers, packed and labeled the household goods (including his toolbox), found him a realtor, and connected him with a financial team to help with the mortgage. That's a managed move, not a lump sum. You lose some flexibility in choosing your mover, but you also don't have to float thousands in moving costs upfront.
Cummins Business Services (CBS) Global Mobility Services runs this domestically in the U.S. The framework comes from a formal policy—the company even presented it to the Canadian Employee Relocation Council—but the specifics are still case-by-case based on your role, salary grade, and distance.
Bottom line: This is closer to white-glove relocation than the cash allowances you see at places like Wells Fargo or Intel. You get more hand-holding, but less control.
Relocation is not automatic at Cummins. You need three things to line up: the right role, the right pay level, and a move that's actually a move.
Cummins sorts employees into three tiers: Professional; Technician, Shop and Office; and College Hire. Your tier determines what you get—which is why reports vary so much from one person to the next.
On distance, employees consistently report a threshold of about 150 to 200 miles. Move closer than that, and relocation is unlikely. One former service manager noted on Reddit that the company "will relocate you pretty much anywhere as long as your prospective manager likes you," but that's the exception, not the rule. And if you're coming in as an apprentice in the Technician Apprentice Program (TAP), expect a smaller package than an experienced, certified hire.
Cummins' policy rests on eight core benefits. Here's what employees report in practice:
Household goods and toolbox shipping. Cummins books and pays the movers. For techs and shop employees, that includes crating and shipping a heavy tool chest alongside the rest of the household. The company handles the coordination; you don't.
Home-finding and realtor support. A realtor gets assigned to you for house-hunting. One tech reported being contracted for eight hours of showings. If you're buying, you also get access to a Cummins financial team to help with mortgage approval. At the Professional tier, the package can include home sale assistance, lease cancellation help, vehicle transport, temporary storage, and spouse/partner transition support.
Temporary housing, hotel, and mileage. You get temporary housing while you settle in, a hotel while you're looking for a permanent place, and mileage reimbursement if you're driving the move yourself. All arranged through the relocation company, not paid out of a lump sum you manage.
Cash on top. On top of the managed services, there's a cash component. Reports range from about one month's salary to a flat $5,000. One person on Reddit described it as either a month's salary or around $5,000. A former service manager listed it as a paid moving truck, mileage, one month's salary, and a family-size moving allowance.
College hires are different. New grads get their relocation as a lump sum through payroll, plus separate home-finding or area-orientation assistance. You manage the money yourself, which means more responsibility and more potential savings—or headaches.
What's not covered. The package moves you and your belongings. If you're shipping a personal vehicle beyond the household move, budget for that separately. Techs especially should price car transport on its own before accepting an offer. Check out MoveFinders' car shipping guide to understand those costs.
Cummins doesn't publish numbers, so everything below comes from employee accounts on Reddit and Blind. Outcomes vary by salary grade, distance, home ownership, and whether you're experienced or an apprentice.
| Situation | What employees reported |
|---|---|
| Experienced diesel tech | About $15,000 in relocation, plus a separate $5,000 sign-on bonus paid after starting |
| Move to Indiana using Cummins movers | About $11,000, with the possibility of more if you handle the move yourself |
| General experienced employee | Roughly $10,000–$15,000 |
| Technician apprentice (TAP) | Around $7,000 |
| Baseline (per a former service manager) | A paid moving truck, mileage, one month's salary, and a family-based moving allowance |
For experienced hires, the range clusters around $7,000 to $15,000. Using the Cummins-arranged movers is often the higher-value play because it eliminates your biggest out-of-pocket cost. Apprentices get less. And if a sign-on bonus is offered, it's a separate line item on top of relocation.
Before you accept, use the cost calculator to estimate your specific route. A real quote carries much more weight in negotiation than a guess.
Since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, relocation benefits for non-military employees are taxed as ordinary income. That's cash allowances, reimbursed moving costs, bonuses—all of it. So a $10,000 package can add several thousand dollars to your taxable income for the year.
Cummins does list tax assistance as one of its eight core benefits, which means the company provides some help with the tax impact. But here's the catch: it's not confirmed whether that assistance fully "grosses up" your benefit—meaning, whether Cummins adds enough on top to cover what you'll owe in taxes. A benefit that's not fully grossed up can be worth 30 to 40 percent less than the face value once taxes hit.
Before you accept, ask HR in writing: "Is the relocation amount grossed up for taxes?" If the answer is no, do your math against the after-tax figure. That's the real money in your pocket.
Cummins relocation comes with strings. You're signing a roughly two-year commitment from your start or transfer date. According to a diesel tech who moved recently, the terms are straightforward: leave within year one and you repay 100 percent; leave during year two and you repay about half.
A former service manager confirmed that relocation (along with tuition reimbursement) are the only benefits he saw with repayment clauses, both on two-year terms. Read the contract closely. If there's any chance you might change jobs within two years, the repayment terms matter.
The managed services are fairly locked in, so negotiation works best when it's backed by documented costs, not a vague ask for more money.
Get everything in writing first. Ask your recruiter to confirm the relocation value, the sign-on bonus, the gross-up policy, and the repayment window in a written offer. Treat sign-on and relocation as two separate numbers.
Make a cost-based case, not a gut ask. If the standard package won't cover your move, itemize what it actually will cost—household goods, car shipment, extra house-hunting travel. Specific beats general.
Get a real moving quote before you negotiate. Use the cost calculator to price your specific route. A quote from a vetted mover carries infinitely more weight than a guess.
Consider the managed move vs. a cash option. One Blind user noted you might get more if you handle the move yourself. But movers are expensive, so run both scenarios side by side before deciding which is actually better for your situation.
Pros:
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Cummins is headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, and runs plants, distribution branches, and service centers across the Midwest and Southeast. That's why so many relocations involve techs and engineers moving toward Indiana, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. One employee's move ran from Texas to Indiana—a common direction toward the company's core.
Where you're headed changes your budget. A move to Indianapolis looks very different from one to Nashville or Charlotte. Before you commit to a number, compare movers for your specific route:
Yes, for eligible roles and moves over roughly 150–200 miles. The package is a managed, full-service relocation handled by a third-party company—not a cash lump sum. Cummins books and pays the movers, assigns a realtor to help you find a home, and covers temporary housing, a house-hunting hotel, and mileage. Whether you qualify, and how much you get, depends on your role, salary grade, and distance.
Cummins doesn't publish a figure. Based on employee reports, experienced hires report around $7,000 to $15,000 in relocation value. One recent diesel tech reported roughly $15,000 plus a separate $5,000 sign-on bonus. An employee moving to Indiana reported about $11,000 with Cummins-provided movers. Apprentices report closer to $7,000. Much of the value is in the managed services—Cummins arranges and pays for movers, a realtor, and temporary housing.
You need three things: the right role, the right pay level, and a move of about 150–200 miles or more. The company sorts domestic relocations into three tiers—Professional; Technician, Shop and Office; and College Hire—and your tier shapes your benefit. Experienced, certified hires get the full package; apprentices get less.
Yes. Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, relocation benefits are taxed as ordinary income for non-military employees. Cummins lists tax assistance as a core benefit, so some help is built in. What's not confirmed is whether that assistance fully grosses up your benefit so you owe nothing extra. Ask HR in writing before you accept—it can change your take-home value by thousands of dollars.
Cummins relocation comes with a repayment clause tied to a roughly two-year commitment from your start or transfer date. Leave within year one and you repay 100 percent; leave during year two and you repay about half. Read the contract closely.
Some hires report a sign-on bonus on top of relocation. One experienced diesel tech reported a $5,000 sign-on bonus paid after starting, separate from about $15,000 in relocation. Treat sign-on and relocation as two different line items when you evaluate an offer. Confirm both amounts in writing with your recruiter.
The managed services are fairly standardized, but the cash and bonus components are worth discussing. The most effective approach: get the relocation terms in writing, price your specific move first so your request is grounded in real numbers, and make a specific, cost-based case if the standard package won't cover it. Use the cost calculator to estimate your route before you talk numbers.
