Texas Gov. Greg Abbott informed CNBC on Friday that the variety of corporations deciding to maneuver their headquarters to the Lone Star State has
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott informed CNBC on Friday that the variety of corporations deciding to maneuver their headquarters to the Lone Star State has accelerated due partially to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Republican governor’s feedback got here shortly after it was reported that software program large Oracle is transferring its company middle from Redwood Metropolis, California, in Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas. Hewlett Packard Enterprise additionally stated earlier this month it’s transferring its headquarters to Houston from San Jose, California. Earlier this fall, actual property large CBRE formally shifted its HQ from Los Angeles to Dallas.
“I’ve been on the cellphone on a weekly foundation with CEOs throughout the nation, and it isn’t simply California,” Abbott stated on “Quick Cash,” referencing his assembly final month with officers from the Nasdaq. “We’re working throughout the board as a result of the instances of Covid have uncovered rather a lot. They’ve uncovered … that you just actually do not need to be in Manhattan, for instance, in an effort to be concerned within the buying and selling enterprise or the funding enterprise.”
Along with the pandemic demonstrating the feasibility of extra widespread distant work, Abbott stated there are different traits attracting corporations to Texas. “Price of enterprise means rather a lot. No revenue tax means rather a lot, but in addition the liberty to function with out the heavy hand of regulation means rather a lot,” he stated.
“This has was an absolute tidal wave,” Abbott added, whereas noting many corporations equivalent to Oracle already had a presence in Texas earlier than their official bulletins. “They’re in search of a state that offers them the independence, the autonomy and the liberty to chart their very own course.”
Abbott additionally pointed to Texas’ relationship with Elon Musk, the chief government of electric-vehicle maker Tesla and SpaceX, as proof of the state’s rising enchantment to enterprise leaders.
Musk has personally moved from California to Texas, and earlier this yr, Tesla introduced it had chosen a website close to Austin to construct its subsequent U.S. manufacturing facility. SpaceX additionally has a rising facility in Boca Chica, Texas, alongside the Gulf Coast. “Elon is elated to be right here,” Abbott stated, including the 2 males “speak on just about a weekly foundation.”