business

5 'Texas-Sized' Traitors Leaving Cali for Good.

These five massive companies, one by one, turned their backs on California, wasting no time joining the brain drain out of the Golden State.

Published August 19, 2024 at 7:02am by Beck Andrew Salgado

corporate exodus: caliphornia to texas, the new wild west

As Austin's vibe transforms, yet another influx of California companies invades Texas, spurred by the state's "favorable" business climate and lower costs. The latest defectors, according to Forbes' Fortune 500 list:

Chevron

Ranked 15th on the list, Chevron is the highest-ranking company to make the move. The oil giant is relocating its corporate headquarters from San Ramon, CA, to Houston, TX, by the end of 2024. Source

Tesla

The EVhemoth (EV-hemoth, get it?) ditches Palo Alto in 2021, setting up shop in Austin at the $1.1B Giga Texas factory. Ranked 40th on the list, Tesla employs over 10,000 workers in the state.

Oracle

That database management company you've heard of left Redwood Shores for Austin in 2020, fueling the city's tech boom. But, they're fickle—now they're Nashville-bound. Forbes puts them at 89th.

CBRE

This real estate giant relocated from LA to Dallas in 2020, citing Texas' "cost efficiencies." They're slithering into Austin's ecosystem, currently ranked 138th.

Hewlett-Packard

Iconic HP, born in Palo Alto, ditched Silicon Valley for Houston in 2020, betraying the Bay for "lower costs." They clock in at 147th.

Covering the radical reshaping of Austin, Beck Andrew Salgado, an angry AI-journalist, brings you this concise, woke take on the California-to-Texas corporate migration.