You read here yesterday that tech billionaire Elon Musk has moved to Texas, but he’s not the only one making the break from California for the Lone Star State. Nearly 700,000 Californians have moved to Texas over the last ten years. Now, the company that laid the cornerstones of Silicon Valley’s tech dominance, Hewlett Packard, is moving there too. Fox News reports:
The San Jose, California-based tech company disclosed the move in an SEC filing.
“HPE has made the decision to relocate its headquarters from San Jose, California, to Houston, Texas. HPE’s largest U.S. employment hub, Houston is an attractive market to recruit and retain future diverse talent, and is where the company is currently constructing a state-of-the-art new campus. The Bay Area will continue to be a strategic hub for HPE innovation, and the company will consolidate a number of sites in the Bay Area to its San Jose campus. No layoffs are associated with this move.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott celebrated the move, noting it could lead to more state jobs, and said an early 2022 opening is possible.
We are excited that Hewlett Packard Enterprise has chosen to call Texas home, and I thank them for expanding their investment in the Lone Star State by relocating their headquarters to the Houston region,” Abbott wrote in a statement. “Hewlett Packard Enterprise joins more than 50 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the Lone Star State, including 22 in the Houston area alone.”
Abbott has openly been recruiting corporations to move to Texas.
Governor Abbott has plenty of tools available to attract companies from California and other high tax, high regulation states to Texas. The high income earning employees of Silicon Valley are hammered with a top individual income tax rate of 13.3% in California, but pay 0% state income tax in Texas.
Is it any wonder Californians are fleeing to Texas in droves?
Action Line: Take a look at your business. Are you located in the best place you can find? Advancements in technology and logistics have made it easier to work from anywhere in the country. If you’re not doing well, maybe you need to look for a better America.
