In the eight weeks since my last compilation, another 35 companies have left California completely or re-directed substantial capital to build facilities out of state that in an earlier era would have been built here. The names of the companies and justifications for listing them appear below. Today's entry builds upon the Oct. 12 entry regarding 158 companies here.
In brief:
Company total for 11-1/2 months of 2010: 193
Company total for all of 2009: 51
The totals in Part III: County-by-County Losses For California Disinvestment Events (updated) reflect these 35 additional events. The order of losses based on the number of events is as follows: Santa Clara experienced nine disinvestment events; Los Angeles, five; Orange and San Diego, three each; Alameda and Ventura, two each; and one each for Butte, Napa, Placer, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Shasta, Solano, Stanislaus counties. One company considering California opted for another state, Arizona, and therefore rejected one or more counties; however, we have no way of know which counties they were.
For those who want more context, see also:
Part II: Examples of Companies Excluded From California Disinvestment Event Listings (updated).
Part IV: States, Countries That Gain From California Disinvestment Events (updated)
Part V: California Disinvestment Events By Category or Type (updated)
Part VI: Why California Disinvestment Events Are Greatly Understated (updated).
Video (4 minutes): Common Sense - Top Ten Reasons Why California Companies Are Calling the Moving Companies
Added to the list of 158 companies are these 35:
ALAMEDA COUNTY
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 2
Comcast is eliminating 212 jobs in Livermore as part of a move to shift its centralized collection operations out of California to Sandy, Utah, south of Salt Lake City. The job eliminations are set to begin in January and end by June. The new Utah operation will serve Comcast customers from California and Washington state. Comcast will retain a major presence in the East Bay even though a minor downsizing is coming in other sections of the company's East Bay operations. According to the Oakland Tribune: "One industry watcher wasn't surprised that Comcast is finding it more efficient to operate in Utah than California. It's tough for a private industry that is located in California -- which has a high cost of living -- compared with other states, said Gino Di Caro, a spokesman for the California Manufacturers and Technology Association. 'Companies can't compete,' Di Caro said. 'We have energy rates that are 50 percent higher than the rest of the country. We have regulatory uncertainty. It's very hard for companies to make decisions to invest in California.'" See the Nov. 23, 2010, story "Comcast cutting 212 jobs in Livermore in shift to Utah." (RELO-OS)
Insituform Technologies of San Leandro, a maker of pipe products, is relocating its Bay Area factory to Cedar City, Utah. Only details are in a brief mention in an AP story in the Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 10, 2010, "California company relocating to Cedar City." Insituform is a world-wide company HQ'd in Chesterfield, Missouri, that specializes in sewer and drinking water system renovation and recently expanded into industrial piping services. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the company is positioning itself in developing economies to take advantage of growing infrastructure demand: "In the past two years, it has expanded into Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia, and . . . is exploring work in China and Southeast Asia." See the Aug. 15, 2010, story "Insituform is shaping a solid future - Chesterfield firm goes global, led by an acquisition and expansion of industrial piping" (through NewsBank; subscription required). (CLO and RELO-OS)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Smucker Natural Foods plant in Chico will move an undetermined number of jobs in marketing, accounting and customer service to Orrville, Ohio by mid-2011. As many as 25 positions are involved, but it isn't known how many are in Chico or how many are in Ripon, Wisconsin, which also will lose jobs. See the Chico Enterprise-Record Oct. 6, 2010, story "Chico Smucker Natural Foods plant to lose jobs" For some historical perspective, three years ago local citizens were unsuccessful in blocking a 22,000 square-foot expansion, a $3 million project, for refrigeration and additional parking. See story in the same newspaper, Feb. 27, 2007, "Neighbors denied appeal to block Smucker expansion." and another that said a four-to-six month delay in receiving a project permit could cost the company $200,000, but it appears delays lasted longer than that. See the July 25, 2006, story "Smucker ordered to get permit for project." Also, for a little more history, the Monterey County Herald reported that Smucker closed its Salinas plant in 2005 that eliminated 169 jobs. See the Nov. 30, 2004, story "Smucker plant to close next year" (all stories through NewsBank; subscription required). (RELO-OS)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 5
Accruent, based in Santa Monica, which develops real estate-related software, expanded by opening an office in Austin, Texas, for product management and engineering -- the kinds of software jobs that typically have been placed in California -- as well as operations and support. According to the Austin American-Statesman, the company, which also has an office in Irvine, expects to employ 50 people in Austin by the end of 2010. See the Aug. 18, 2010 story "As California tech firms get cozy in Austin, city woos more" (through NewsBank). The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce initially brought this event to our attention. (CD-OSG)
Boeing Co. will close a C-17 aircraft parts warehouse in Carson and move part of the work to a Santa Fe Springs facility and part of it to San Antonio, Texas. Up to 200 jobs will be affected as the 300,000-square-foot facility closes down in phases through July 2011. The Daily Breeze reported that Boeing "is taking the steps necessary to increase competitiveness and reduce costs on the C-17 Globemaster III program." Boeing said the savings will be "significant." See the Nov. 17, 2010 story "Boeing to close Carson aircraft parts warehouse by next July." (CLO and RELO-OS)
Cinsay, Inc., an e-commerce media and software company, HQ'd in Century City in West Los Angeles, opened an office in Austin, Texas, in March. The number of jobs is unknown. Cinsay maximizes how companies monetize online media by "leveraging the latest internet and mobile technology." It supports, among other things, the online store for the World Series of Poker. We are grateful to the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce for bringing this event to our attention. (CD-OSG)
Investor's Business Daily, a Los Angeles-based publication and a publishing company is expanding its office, manufacturing, assembly and distribution operations to Plano, Texas, bringing more than 200 jobs to the area. According to the Dallas Business Journal, "Investor's Business Daily, a national financial newspaper, and O'Neil Data Systems, an affiliated data-driven publishing company, have purchased a 218,000-square foot office/warehouse facility." O'Neil Data Systems will use 190,000 square feet for the printing, assembly and distribution of a variety of publications. See the Dec. 1, 2010 story, "Investor's Business Daily coming to Plano." Earlier, the Dallas Morning News quoted Bill O'Neil, chairman of William O'Neil + Co., who owns the paper, that "It's possible that we might move the headquarters there at some point, but it's just an expansion move right now." See that Sept. 26, 2010, story "Investor's Business Daily' could move headquarters to Plano." (CD-OSG and RELO-OS)
Technicolor Inc. will shut down its plant in North Hollywood in 2011, and transfer work to a company facility in Mirabel, Canada, outside of Montreal. Technicolor will still provide some services in Los Angeles. It's unclear how many jobs will be affected after negotiations with unions, but the move could result in 100 or more job losses. The Los Angeles Times reported that the company "has been repositioning itself in recent years to become more of a digital production services business" and has invested heavily in digital post production and visual-effects facilities in Bangalore, India, and London. See the Nov. 19, 2010 story "Technicolor to close North Hollywood film printing plant." Variety broke the news on Nov. 18 in "Technicolor to shutter N. H'wood plant." (CLO and RELO-OS)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
New Media Learning, a workplace compliance training firm HQ'd in Napa, opened an office in August in Austin, Texas, with 40 people. Details are difficult to come by, but among the jobs being placed in Texas is Director of Inside Sales who will "manage our growing inside team based both in Austin as well as across the U.S." See that here. (CD-OSG)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 3
(TWO companies included in one report here): Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., HQ'd in San Clemente, and Claim Jumper Restaurants, HQ'd in Irvine, have been acquired by Landry's Restaurants of Texas. The Houston Chronicle reports that "Corporate offices for both Claim Jumper and Bubba Gump will close in California and be moved to Houston, adding about 200 jobs to this area." See the Nov. 8, 2010, story, "Landry's runs to buy Bubba Gump chain." This event has since been confirmed in an Orange County Register Feb. 28, 2011 story "Two O.C. restaurant chains move to Texas."
Primoris Services Corp., a construction and engineering company HQ'd in Lake Forest, is moving its headquarters to Dallas, Texas. According to the Orange County Business Journal the county will lose a sizable public company with the move because Primoris has a market value of nearly $400 million. See the Nov. 9, 2010, story "Construction Company Primoris Moving to Texas." The company said the move would be effective Jan. 17, 2011, and will involve the CEO, CFO, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and other senior executives and staff members. (RELO-OS)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
TASQ Technology, Inc., HQ'd in Rocklin, is closing its HQ and warehouse and moving to Marietta, Georgia, where the company projects it will have as many as 350 jobs. Go to this link and click “Current Issue." Also, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the move will occur over the next 18 months, presumably ending about September 2011. See the March 25, 2010, story "First Data moving jobs to Marietta About 350 positions within next 18 months" (through NewsBank). (CLO and RELO-OS)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
GE Aviation will close its long-time engine repair and testing facility located at the Los Angeles/Ontario International Airport in Ontario, Calif. According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, "The facility performed tests on engines after they were overhauled and repaired before being sent back to customers. . . . The testing facility, which has been open for 55 years, has been shrinking in size for years. At its peak employment, the site had more than 700 workers." Eighteen jobs will be lost by the end of 2010. Read the Nov. 3, 2010 story "GE Aviation closing California facility." (CLO)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 3
Adio Footwear, moved its HQ from Solana Beach to its parent company AL&S’ New York City offices. It isn't known how many jobs are involved. According to the company, “The economic landscape is ever changing and Adio needs to protect its authentic action sports heritage to evolve with the times. To be able to continue producing authentic quality products and also offer aggressive marketing programs for strategic retail partners, Adio has elected to relocate its global headquarters to the parent company’s NYC office. The distribution strategy will still include core stores, specialty retailers and the family shoe channel." See the Transworld Business Nov. 29, 2010. story: "Adio Cuts Skate Team; Moves Offices To NYC." (CLO and RELO-OS)
Biogen Idec will close its cancer therapy research program in San Diego as part of a restructuring that will eliminate 325 local jobs by early 2011. Seven years ago about 1,000 people worked for the company in the San Diego area. The San Diego Union Tribune reported, "The Cambridge, Mass., drug company’s exit from San Diego represents a psychological blow to the region. . . . About 25 percent of the people working at the Nobel Campus will be offered jobs at other Biogen Idec locations . . . The rest will be laid off. While the restructuring announced Wednesday will eliminate 650 jobs from Biogen Idec, or 13 percent of the company’s 4,275 employees worldwide, the biggest hit will be felt in San Diego." (Emphasis added.) All of the company’s U.S. activities will be consolidated at sites in Massachusetts and North Carolina. See the Union Tribune Nov. 3, 2010, story "Biogen Idec shutting down San Diego campus." (CLO and RELO-OS)
PETCO Animal Supplies Inc., HQ'd in San Diego, will expand its headquarters to San Antonio, Texas in 2011 and complete the transition by 2014. The San Antonio Express-News reported: "Petco will open its Satellite Support Center with about 100 employees, including several top executives . . . Between 40 and 80 employees are expected to move [from San Diego]. The jobs will pay an average of about $57,700 a year. Ten percent of the jobs will pay $80,000 or more. . . . Petco started its site-selection process in January with a list 37 possible expansion sites around the country, including the San Diego area. See Nov. 22, 2010, story "Petco plans to add 400 jobs in S.A." Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the project will create 400 jobs and generate an estimated $17 million in capital investment in his statement "Gov. Perry Announces TEF Investment Bringing 400 Jobs to San Antonio." (CD-OSG and RELO-OS)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Valley Towing Products in Lodi will shut down in January and 64 employees will lose their jobs. Work will move to a plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, owned by parent company Revstone Industries LLC of Lexington, Ky., and to Dallas, Texas. The company has made parts of trailers and towing systems in Lodi since 1947. Both the plant in Mexico and the Dallas warehouse are new and represent part of the privately held company’s expansion plans. See the Central Valley Business Times Dec. 3, 2010, story, "Manufacturing plant in Lodi to be closed." (CLO and RELO-OS)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Retail Anywhere, HQ'd in Atascadero, Calif., opened a new office for its Customer Support and Implementation departments in North Las Vegas, Nevada. A company statement said the new office will accommodate its need for a larger staging facility and support an increased staff of help-desk support. Branden Jenkins, Retail Anywhere's CEO, said. "We chose the Las Vegas area because of its talented labor pool and for its abundant options of direct flights, easing the commute for our implementation teams as well as for customers coming on-site for training." See the company's news release, "Retail Anywhere Opens New Office in Las Vegas." (CD-OSG)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Pain Therapeutics Inc., a San Mateo-based drug development company, said in an Oct. 29, 2010 SEC filing that "We intend to relocate our permanent headquarters, including actual direction, control, and coordination of our operations, from San Mateo, California to Austin, Texas between now and the end of 2011." According to the Austin American Statesman, Pain Therapeutics has about 30 employees and plans to hire 50 to 100 people in R&D roles over the next three years. The paper quoted CEO Remi Barbier as saying "he wanted to find a location that was both pro-business and strong in the technology sector. He said he considered cities such as Seattle and Boston before deciding on Austin. . . . 'We're a business, and we look for business-friendly states and business-friendly environments, and we think Texas is one of the most pro-business in the country,' Barbier said. 'At the next level, we're a medical research company and we think that Austin, Texas, is an up-and-coming cluster for biotech and biomedical research, and we'd like to participate in that.'" See the Oct. 29 story "Drug development firm moving headquarters to Austin; Pain Therapeutics, citing business-friendly environment, bringing offices from California." (CLO and RELO-OS)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 9
Adobe Systems of San Jose is expanding big-time in Lehi, Utah. Business Facilities reports that it will build a 230,000-square-foot tech campus and bring up to 1,000 jobs to the area over the next 20 years. The campus will be built on a 38-acre undeveloped site west of Traverse Mountain and be similar to Adobe’s corporate offices in San Jose with a skywalk between multilevel LEED certified buildings. The facility is "expected to bring in more than $134 million in taxes over the next 20 years, the move could bring in as much as $1.6 billion in wages paid over that time. Salaries will be 200 percent of the local average." See the Oct. 1, 2010 story: "Adobe Picks Lehi as Site of Tech Campus." (CD-OSG)
Alvarion will move its North American headquarters from Sunnyvale to Montgomery County, Maryland. One reason for the selection was the "quality of public education," according to the company. According to the Montgomery Gazette, the company will move some employees from California and also intends to create 25 new jobs by 2013. Alvarion just signed about $80 million in deals to bring wireless broadband to rural parts of Canada and Italy and some have called the company a world leader in providing 4G networks. See the Nov. 1, 2010 story "Schools key factor in Alvarion move to Montgomery." (CLO and RELO-OS)
Barracuda Networks, an IT security firm HQ'd in Campbell, Calif., is undertaking a major expansion of its R&D center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2010. In the two years since it created the facility, it has grown from 8 employees to about 100 workers. The company is going to great lengths to hire still more people, with AnnArbor.com reporting that a company recruiter flies in a charter aircraft to communities as far away as Houghton in Michigan's upper peninsula. Such a trip is part of its "brisk hiring plan" for the Ann Arbor office, which is 542 miles away. The company said, “We’re actually, for the first time, looking outside the greater Detroit and Ann Arbor region, just because we have so many slots to fill." Barracuda's growth illustrates the economic potential of the IT security sector for the Ann Arbor region and the University of Michigan's computer science engineering program. See the AnnArbor.com Oct. 17, 2010, story, "IT security growth at Barracuda Networks, Arbor Networks illuminates opportunity for Ann Arbor." One estimate is that Barracuda would invest $2.55 million in Ann Arbor, according to mlive.com, Sept. 28, 2008, story "Barracuda Networks, ICON Creative Technologies to add nearly 250 jobs in Ann Arbor." (CD-OSG)
Facebook, based in Palo Alto, is investing $450 million in a data center near Forest City, North Carolina, which will open in 2012. According to PC Magazine, "The data center, located about 60 miles outside of Charlotte, will employ more than 250 construction and mechanical workers during the 18-month construction process and 35 to 45 full-time and contract workers once it opens. . . . Facebook said its data center will be one of the most energy efficient data centers in the U.S. via innovative cooling and power management technologies.. . . North Carolina is home to several high-tech data centers. Apple is set to open one in Maiden, NC "any day now," according to local officials. Google also has a $600 million data center in Lenoir, NC. In February, IBM announced that it would build a new, $362 million data center at its Research Triangle Park campus."See the Nov. 11, 2010, story "Facebook Building $450M North Carolina Data Center." The Associated Press observed that "One of the most important factors is relatively inexpensive power, important for facilities that can use as much electricity as a city of 50,000. Another is the climate: extremes of cold and heat are a challenge for facilities with huge amounts of sensitive electronic equipment. The climate around Rutherford County is so consistent that the local community college is called Isothermal Community College, for a meteorological term meaning identical or even temperatures." See the Nov. 11, 2010, story "Facebook Picks Site for Data Center." Note: The development is in addition to four other Facebook-sponsored out-of-California events. Note: All these companies save a fortune by avoiding California utility costs, which will only worsen beginning in 2012 with more California environmental regulations set to kick in. (CD-OSG)
GlobalFoundries, HQ'd in Milpitas, Calif., will create many jobs in Saratoga County, New York, where the Albany Times Union reports that the company "has been building its $4.6 billion chip factory, or "chip fab," in the town of Malta for the past 12 months [and the cost could reach] as high as $5 billion if GlobalFoundries goes ahead with an expansion of the facility." Known as Fab 8, it has sparked Applied Materials Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., and ASML of the Netherlands t hire engineers to work in Malta. The paper continued: "GlobalFoundries is also currently advertising about 150 jobs in Malta as it prepares to start installing tools at the facility and begin manufacturing. The fab is expected to start full-scale manufacturing by early 2013, with full-time employment expected to be roughly 1,400." The companies like to be located near the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. See more in the Dec. 3, 2010 story "Sign of fab jobs to come." See photos & sketches and other information about this massive project here. (CD-OSG)
InCube Labs, HQ'd in San Jose, will launch an Innovation Center in San Antonio, Texas, and will also launch five life science companies in that city over the next five years. InCube Labs is a Silicon Valley-based life sciences research laboratory. It's chairman and CEO, Mir Imran, has founded more than 20 companies, holds more than 200 patents, and with partners also manages a venture fund, InCube Ventures. It's expected that InCube will create at least 50 jobs within the business incubator with salaries ranging from $50,000 to over $200,000. The city expects that over ten years, InCube companies will create approximately 400 jobs and will spend about $100 million. InCube actively develops start-up companies, guiding them through scientific and technical development, clinical trials, and early-stage commercialization. "With San Antonio's research institutions, city officials and our partners in the business community, San Antonio has a solid foundation to become a preeminent center for life sciences innovation and entrepreneurship," said Imran. See the City of San Antonio press release, June 10, 2010, "InCube Labs to Create San Antonio Innovation Center." Also: the three related companies are, according to the San Antonio Express-News, "Corhythm Inc. with the heart failure device, Neurolink Inc. with the epilepsy device and Fe3 Medical Inc. with the iron patch." See the Sept. 28, 2010 story "3 firms coming to InCube in S.A.." (It seems fair to count these four companies as one relocation considering the joint ownership and their relatively small scale at this time.) (CD-OSG)
Intel, HQ'd in Santa Clara, will spend up to $8 billion to support future technology advancements and manufacturing in Arizona and Oregon. The investments will support the creation of 6,000-8,000 construction jobs and 800-1,000 permanent high-tech jobs. Included will be a new development fab in Oregon, as well as upgrades to four existing fabs to manufacture the next-generation 22-nanometer (nm) process technology. See the company's Oct. 19, 2010, news release "Intel Announces Multi-Billion-Dollar Investment in Next-Generation Manufacturing in U.S." The Oregonian reported: "Though Intel's headquarters are in California's Silicon Valley, the company's largest and most sophisticated operations are in Washington County. Intel employs 15,000 in the state, more than any other business, and those workers' payroll and benefits totaled $1.8 billion last year." See OregonLive.com Oct. 20, 2010 story, "Intel confirms it'll invest billions in Hillsboro plants." NOTE: Not included in these listing are Intel's expansions in China and Vietnam, which more clearly appear to be geared to market developments in Asia and therefore are placed in "Part II: Examples of Companies Excluded From California Disinvestment Event Listings." (CD-OSG)
ShoreTel Inc., based in Sunnyvale, which sells Internet-protocol business phone systems, opened a 90-person facility in August in Austin, Texas. The Austin American Statesman reported that "The company employs more than 90 people locally, and officials expect that number to double over the next two years." See the Aug. 18, 2010 story "As California tech firms get cozy in Austin, city woos more" (through NewsBank). The Austin Business Journal reported that "the new jobs will fall in engineering, customer service call center, training and development departments." See "ShoreTel hiring 150 in Austin." A company news release quoted the company's CEO, John W. Combs, as saying: “The beauty of the ShoreTel system is that it lets us have offices anywhere, while ensuring close collaboration among our teams. We looked at a number of locations outside of California, and Austin exceeded our expectations in many criteria, including work ethic, quality of education, local vibrancy and talent pool. We’re excited about joining the Austin community and welcoming more Austinites to the ShoreTel team.” See "ShoreTel Expands Operations with New Office Facilities in Austin, Texas." (CD-OSG)
SunPower Corp., a "green" company, HQ'd in San Jose, will create a new U.S. operations center in Austin, Texas, creating 450 jobs and generating an estimated $10 million in capital investment. The new facility will house marketing, legal, finance and accounting functions. SunPower Corp. designs, manufactures and delivers solar technology worldwide for residential, commercial and utility-scale power plant customers. SunPower CEO Tom Werner said: "Texas has great potential to become a significant solar market. If policies creating a stable solar market across Texas are enacted, this commitment by SunPower could be the start of significantly more investment and job creation in the state by the rapidly growing solar industry." See the news release: "Gov. Perry Announces TEF Investment Bringing 450 Jobs to Austin." (CD-OSG)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Morpheus Lights, an entertainment lighting company that relocated to Redding 12 years ago to escape Silicon Valley, consolidated operations at its Las Vegas headquarters in April. The Redding Record Searchlight reported that in 1998 Morpheus relocated from Santa Clara because "employees were concerned about San Francisco Bay area traffic and the high cost of living. Morpheus later moved its headquarters to Las Vegas but [until this year] kept its main production and manufacturing facility in Redding." See the Jan. 22, 2010 story "Morpheus Lights pulling out of Redding." (CLO and RELO-OS)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Dr. Pepper Snapple/7-Up bottling operation in Vallejo shut down on Oct. 18, 2010, even though soda-plant operations are growing in many other parts of the nation. The Vallejo Times-Herald reported a loss of more than 90 jobs. Operations will be consolidated with branches in Sacramento, Petaluma and San Leandro. A company spokesperson said, "Our decision to consolidate Bay Area operations was made as part of an ongoing effort to improve operating efficiency and serve our customers more effectively." See the Sept. 28, 2010 story "7UP bottling plant closing in Vallejo, more than 90 jobs lost" (through NewsBank). (CLO)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Hi-Tec Sports USA, based in Modesto for 30 years, is moving its corporate HQ to Portland, Oregon. It is a subsidiary of privately held Hi-Tec Sports plc of London, England. According to the Central Valley Business Times, about a dozen jobs will be affected; shipping and distribution will remain in Modesto. See the Oct. 11, 2010 story "Central Valley shoe company moves headquarters to Oregon." The Modesto Bee reported that the company's products are manufactured overseas. See the Oct. 11, 2010 story "Footwear maker moving its HQ." (CLO and RELO-OS)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 2
Consolidated Electrical Distributors Inc. (CED) will relocate its corporate HQ from Westlake Village to Irving, Texas. The move will create 120 jobs and generate $3.3 million in capital investment in the area. Texas Gov. Rick Perry said: “Employers across the nation are looking for a job-friendly environment where they can succeed. Thanks to the Texas Enterprise Fund, low taxes, predictable regulations, a reformed legal system and increasingly accountable public schools, Texas continues to attract businesses and investment, and is the number one state for job creation in the U.S.” CED, a Forbes 125 private company, is one of the largest electrical distribution companies in the U.S. and one of the largest private companies in the nation. See the GovMonitor Oct. 22, 2010 story: "Consolidated Electrical Distributors Receives $1.2 Million TEF Investment, To Create 120 Jobs." (CLO and RELO-OS)
In-Three, HQ'd in Westlake Village, has been purchased by Digital Domain and most of the 70 jobs will be shifted to Port St. Lucie, Florida. The Los Angeles Times reported that "In-Three has been a pioneer in the field of converting movies into 3-D, a business that has taken off since the success of James Cameron's blockbuster 'Avatar.'" The paper quoted Cliff Plumer, Digital Domain's chief executive, that "I'd rather keep the jobs in California," but Florida is "more economical than California, I'm sorry to say." Plans are in the works for a Digital Domain Institute in West Palm Beach, a four-year program in advanced digital media supported by Florida State University. See the Nov. 19, 2010, story: "Effects studio Digital Domain buying In-Three and moving most of it out of state." Note: This move is separate from the previously reported Digital Domain moves to Florida and British Columbia. (CLO and RELO-OS)
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Roche, a bioscience and pharmaceutical company HQ'd in Switzerland, after looking at California, scratched the state off its list for a new 500-employee facility in favor of Oro Valley, Arizona, a high-growth community near Tucson. The five-year project will have a capital investment value of about $180 million. According to the Arizona Daily Star, the new jobs at the Ventana Medical Systems subsidiary will have an average salary of $75,000. The facility will be located near a University of Arizona drug research lab, the university's Bio5 Institute, which helps move research into the marketplace, and a growing cluster of bioscience research companies. See the Oct. 13, 2010 story "Drug giant Roche to add 500 jobs here" (through NewsBank). Inside Tucson Business reported: "In landing the expansion, the Oro Valley site won out over three others Roche was considering — Indianapolis and unspecified locations in southern California and northern New Jersey, according to Joe Snell, president and CEO of Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities (TREO). . . . Indianapolis was considered a prime candidate because it is the headquarters of Roche Diagnostics. In New Jersey, Roche also has a small diagnostics facility in Branchburg . . . Ventana Medical President Hany Massarany said the company is already hiring . . . . 'At this site we have manufacturing, national sales and marketing, HR, IT, finance, and organizational positions so there will be a wide range of people we need to hire to fill our needs' . . . . Oro Valley Mayor Satish Hiremath said he believed his town’s eagerness to help contributed to Roche’s decision. 'While other cities may have thrown more money on the table up front to get this lured their way, it doesn’t make it up in the end if they have to spend another six to 12 months to build the site. Time is money and I believe that was a huge factor in making this possible,' Hiremath said." See more at Inside Tucson Business, Oct. 15, 2010 story, "How Oro Valley landed 500, $75,000 a-year jobs." Note Roche is familiar with Northern California in that Genentech, a biotechnology company and member of the Roche Group, has headquarters in South San Francisco. (CP)
In brief:
Company total for 11-1/2 months of 2010: 193
Company total for all of 2009: 51
The totals in Part III: County-by-County Losses For California Disinvestment Events (updated) reflect these 35 additional events. The order of losses based on the number of events is as follows: Santa Clara experienced nine disinvestment events; Los Angeles, five; Orange and San Diego, three each; Alameda and Ventura, two each; and one each for Butte, Napa, Placer, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Shasta, Solano, Stanislaus counties. One company considering California opted for another state, Arizona, and therefore rejected one or more counties; however, we have no way of know which counties they were.
For those who want more context, see also:
Part II: Examples of Companies Excluded From California Disinvestment Event Listings (updated).
Part IV: States, Countries That Gain From California Disinvestment Events (updated)
Part V: California Disinvestment Events By Category or Type (updated)
Part VI: Why California Disinvestment Events Are Greatly Understated (updated).
Video (4 minutes): Common Sense - Top Ten Reasons Why California Companies Are Calling the Moving Companies
Added to the list of 158 companies are these 35:
ALAMEDA COUNTY
2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 2
Comcast is eliminating 212 jobs in Livermore as part of a move to shift its centralized collection operations out of California to Sandy, Utah, south of Salt Lake City. The job eliminations are set to begin in January and end by June. The new Utah operation will serve Comcast customers from California and Washington state. Comcast will retain a major presence in the East Bay even though a minor downsizing is coming in other sections of the company's East Bay operations. According to the Oakland Tribune: "One industry watcher wasn't surprised that Comcast is finding it more efficient to operate in Utah than California. It's tough for a private industry that is located in California -- which has a high cost of living -- compared with other states, said Gino Di Caro, a spokesman for the California Manufacturers and Technology Association. 'Companies can't compete,' Di Caro said. 'We have energy rates that are 50 percent higher than the rest of the country. We have regulatory uncertainty. It's very hard for companies to make decisions to invest in California.'" See the Nov. 23, 2010, story "Comcast cutting 212 jobs in Livermore in shift to Utah." (RELO-OS)
Insituform Technologies of San Leandro, a maker of pipe products, is relocating its Bay Area factory to Cedar City, Utah. Only details are in a brief mention in an AP story in the Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 10, 2010, "California company relocating to Cedar City." Insituform is a world-wide company HQ'd in Chesterfield, Missouri, that specializes in sewer and drinking water system renovation and recently expanded into industrial piping services. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the company is positioning itself in developing economies to take advantage of growing infrastructure demand: "In the past two years, it has expanded into Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia, and . . . is exploring work in China and Southeast Asia." See the Aug. 15, 2010, story "Insituform is shaping a solid future - Chesterfield firm goes global, led by an acquisition and expansion of industrial piping" (through NewsBank; subscription required). (CLO and RELO-OS)
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BUTTE COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Smucker Natural Foods plant in Chico will move an undetermined number of jobs in marketing, accounting and customer service to Orrville, Ohio by mid-2011. As many as 25 positions are involved, but it isn't known how many are in Chico or how many are in Ripon, Wisconsin, which also will lose jobs. See the Chico Enterprise-Record Oct. 6, 2010, story "Chico Smucker Natural Foods plant to lose jobs" For some historical perspective, three years ago local citizens were unsuccessful in blocking a 22,000 square-foot expansion, a $3 million project, for refrigeration and additional parking. See story in the same newspaper, Feb. 27, 2007, "Neighbors denied appeal to block Smucker expansion." and another that said a four-to-six month delay in receiving a project permit could cost the company $200,000, but it appears delays lasted longer than that. See the July 25, 2006, story "Smucker ordered to get permit for project." Also, for a little more history, the Monterey County Herald reported that Smucker closed its Salinas plant in 2005 that eliminated 169 jobs. See the Nov. 30, 2004, story "Smucker plant to close next year" (all stories through NewsBank; subscription required). (RELO-OS)
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LOS ANGELES COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 5
Accruent, based in Santa Monica, which develops real estate-related software, expanded by opening an office in Austin, Texas, for product management and engineering -- the kinds of software jobs that typically have been placed in California -- as well as operations and support. According to the Austin American-Statesman, the company, which also has an office in Irvine, expects to employ 50 people in Austin by the end of 2010. See the Aug. 18, 2010 story "As California tech firms get cozy in Austin, city woos more" (through NewsBank). The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce initially brought this event to our attention. (CD-OSG)
Boeing Co. will close a C-17 aircraft parts warehouse in Carson and move part of the work to a Santa Fe Springs facility and part of it to San Antonio, Texas. Up to 200 jobs will be affected as the 300,000-square-foot facility closes down in phases through July 2011. The Daily Breeze reported that Boeing "is taking the steps necessary to increase competitiveness and reduce costs on the C-17 Globemaster III program." Boeing said the savings will be "significant." See the Nov. 17, 2010 story "Boeing to close Carson aircraft parts warehouse by next July." (CLO and RELO-OS)
Cinsay, Inc., an e-commerce media and software company, HQ'd in Century City in West Los Angeles, opened an office in Austin, Texas, in March. The number of jobs is unknown. Cinsay maximizes how companies monetize online media by "leveraging the latest internet and mobile technology." It supports, among other things, the online store for the World Series of Poker. We are grateful to the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce for bringing this event to our attention. (CD-OSG)
Investor's Business Daily, a Los Angeles-based publication and a publishing company is expanding its office, manufacturing, assembly and distribution operations to Plano, Texas, bringing more than 200 jobs to the area. According to the Dallas Business Journal, "Investor's Business Daily, a national financial newspaper, and O'Neil Data Systems, an affiliated data-driven publishing company, have purchased a 218,000-square foot office/warehouse facility." O'Neil Data Systems will use 190,000 square feet for the printing, assembly and distribution of a variety of publications. See the Dec. 1, 2010 story, "Investor's Business Daily coming to Plano." Earlier, the Dallas Morning News quoted Bill O'Neil, chairman of William O'Neil + Co., who owns the paper, that "It's possible that we might move the headquarters there at some point, but it's just an expansion move right now." See that Sept. 26, 2010, story "Investor's Business Daily' could move headquarters to Plano." (CD-OSG and RELO-OS)
Technicolor Inc. will shut down its plant in North Hollywood in 2011, and transfer work to a company facility in Mirabel, Canada, outside of Montreal. Technicolor will still provide some services in Los Angeles. It's unclear how many jobs will be affected after negotiations with unions, but the move could result in 100 or more job losses. The Los Angeles Times reported that the company "has been repositioning itself in recent years to become more of a digital production services business" and has invested heavily in digital post production and visual-effects facilities in Bangalore, India, and London. See the Nov. 19, 2010 story "Technicolor to close North Hollywood film printing plant." Variety broke the news on Nov. 18 in "Technicolor to shutter N. H'wood plant." (CLO and RELO-OS)
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NAPA COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
New Media Learning, a workplace compliance training firm HQ'd in Napa, opened an office in August in Austin, Texas, with 40 people. Details are difficult to come by, but among the jobs being placed in Texas is Director of Inside Sales who will "manage our growing inside team based both in Austin as well as across the U.S." See that here. (CD-OSG)
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ORANGE COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 3
(TWO companies included in one report here): Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., HQ'd in San Clemente, and Claim Jumper Restaurants, HQ'd in Irvine, have been acquired by Landry's Restaurants of Texas. The Houston Chronicle reports that "Corporate offices for both Claim Jumper and Bubba Gump will close in California and be moved to Houston, adding about 200 jobs to this area." See the Nov. 8, 2010, story, "Landry's runs to buy Bubba Gump chain." This event has since been confirmed in an Orange County Register Feb. 28, 2011 story "Two O.C. restaurant chains move to Texas."
Primoris Services Corp., a construction and engineering company HQ'd in Lake Forest, is moving its headquarters to Dallas, Texas. According to the Orange County Business Journal the county will lose a sizable public company with the move because Primoris has a market value of nearly $400 million. See the Nov. 9, 2010, story "Construction Company Primoris Moving to Texas." The company said the move would be effective Jan. 17, 2011, and will involve the CEO, CFO, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and other senior executives and staff members. (RELO-OS)
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PLACER COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
TASQ Technology, Inc., HQ'd in Rocklin, is closing its HQ and warehouse and moving to Marietta, Georgia, where the company projects it will have as many as 350 jobs. Go to this link and click “Current Issue." Also, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the move will occur over the next 18 months, presumably ending about September 2011. See the March 25, 2010, story "First Data moving jobs to Marietta About 350 positions within next 18 months" (through NewsBank). (CLO and RELO-OS)
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SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
GE Aviation will close its long-time engine repair and testing facility located at the Los Angeles/Ontario International Airport in Ontario, Calif. According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, "The facility performed tests on engines after they were overhauled and repaired before being sent back to customers. . . . The testing facility, which has been open for 55 years, has been shrinking in size for years. At its peak employment, the site had more than 700 workers." Eighteen jobs will be lost by the end of 2010. Read the Nov. 3, 2010 story "GE Aviation closing California facility." (CLO)
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SAN DIEGO COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 3
Adio Footwear, moved its HQ from Solana Beach to its parent company AL&S’ New York City offices. It isn't known how many jobs are involved. According to the company, “The economic landscape is ever changing and Adio needs to protect its authentic action sports heritage to evolve with the times. To be able to continue producing authentic quality products and also offer aggressive marketing programs for strategic retail partners, Adio has elected to relocate its global headquarters to the parent company’s NYC office. The distribution strategy will still include core stores, specialty retailers and the family shoe channel." See the Transworld Business Nov. 29, 2010. story: "Adio Cuts Skate Team; Moves Offices To NYC." (CLO and RELO-OS)
Biogen Idec will close its cancer therapy research program in San Diego as part of a restructuring that will eliminate 325 local jobs by early 2011. Seven years ago about 1,000 people worked for the company in the San Diego area. The San Diego Union Tribune reported, "The Cambridge, Mass., drug company’s exit from San Diego represents a psychological blow to the region. . . . About 25 percent of the people working at the Nobel Campus will be offered jobs at other Biogen Idec locations . . . The rest will be laid off. While the restructuring announced Wednesday will eliminate 650 jobs from Biogen Idec, or 13 percent of the company’s 4,275 employees worldwide, the biggest hit will be felt in San Diego." (Emphasis added.) All of the company’s U.S. activities will be consolidated at sites in Massachusetts and North Carolina. See the Union Tribune Nov. 3, 2010, story "Biogen Idec shutting down San Diego campus." (CLO and RELO-OS)
PETCO Animal Supplies Inc., HQ'd in San Diego, will expand its headquarters to San Antonio, Texas in 2011 and complete the transition by 2014. The San Antonio Express-News reported: "Petco will open its Satellite Support Center with about 100 employees, including several top executives . . . Between 40 and 80 employees are expected to move [from San Diego]. The jobs will pay an average of about $57,700 a year. Ten percent of the jobs will pay $80,000 or more. . . . Petco started its site-selection process in January with a list 37 possible expansion sites around the country, including the San Diego area. See Nov. 22, 2010, story "Petco plans to add 400 jobs in S.A." Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the project will create 400 jobs and generate an estimated $17 million in capital investment in his statement "Gov. Perry Announces TEF Investment Bringing 400 Jobs to San Antonio." (CD-OSG and RELO-OS)
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SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Valley Towing Products in Lodi will shut down in January and 64 employees will lose their jobs. Work will move to a plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, owned by parent company Revstone Industries LLC of Lexington, Ky., and to Dallas, Texas. The company has made parts of trailers and towing systems in Lodi since 1947. Both the plant in Mexico and the Dallas warehouse are new and represent part of the privately held company’s expansion plans. See the Central Valley Business Times Dec. 3, 2010, story, "Manufacturing plant in Lodi to be closed." (CLO and RELO-OS)
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SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Retail Anywhere, HQ'd in Atascadero, Calif., opened a new office for its Customer Support and Implementation departments in North Las Vegas, Nevada. A company statement said the new office will accommodate its need for a larger staging facility and support an increased staff of help-desk support. Branden Jenkins, Retail Anywhere's CEO, said. "We chose the Las Vegas area because of its talented labor pool and for its abundant options of direct flights, easing the commute for our implementation teams as well as for customers coming on-site for training." See the company's news release, "Retail Anywhere Opens New Office in Las Vegas." (CD-OSG)
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SAN MATEO COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Pain Therapeutics Inc., a San Mateo-based drug development company, said in an Oct. 29, 2010 SEC filing that "We intend to relocate our permanent headquarters, including actual direction, control, and coordination of our operations, from San Mateo, California to Austin, Texas between now and the end of 2011." According to the Austin American Statesman, Pain Therapeutics has about 30 employees and plans to hire 50 to 100 people in R&D roles over the next three years. The paper quoted CEO Remi Barbier as saying "he wanted to find a location that was both pro-business and strong in the technology sector. He said he considered cities such as Seattle and Boston before deciding on Austin. . . . 'We're a business, and we look for business-friendly states and business-friendly environments, and we think Texas is one of the most pro-business in the country,' Barbier said. 'At the next level, we're a medical research company and we think that Austin, Texas, is an up-and-coming cluster for biotech and biomedical research, and we'd like to participate in that.'" See the Oct. 29 story "Drug development firm moving headquarters to Austin; Pain Therapeutics, citing business-friendly environment, bringing offices from California." (CLO and RELO-OS)
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SANTA CLARA COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 9
Adobe Systems of San Jose is expanding big-time in Lehi, Utah. Business Facilities reports that it will build a 230,000-square-foot tech campus and bring up to 1,000 jobs to the area over the next 20 years. The campus will be built on a 38-acre undeveloped site west of Traverse Mountain and be similar to Adobe’s corporate offices in San Jose with a skywalk between multilevel LEED certified buildings. The facility is "expected to bring in more than $134 million in taxes over the next 20 years, the move could bring in as much as $1.6 billion in wages paid over that time. Salaries will be 200 percent of the local average." See the Oct. 1, 2010 story: "Adobe Picks Lehi as Site of Tech Campus." (CD-OSG)
Alvarion will move its North American headquarters from Sunnyvale to Montgomery County, Maryland. One reason for the selection was the "quality of public education," according to the company. According to the Montgomery Gazette, the company will move some employees from California and also intends to create 25 new jobs by 2013. Alvarion just signed about $80 million in deals to bring wireless broadband to rural parts of Canada and Italy and some have called the company a world leader in providing 4G networks. See the Nov. 1, 2010 story "Schools key factor in Alvarion move to Montgomery." (CLO and RELO-OS)
Barracuda Networks, an IT security firm HQ'd in Campbell, Calif., is undertaking a major expansion of its R&D center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2010. In the two years since it created the facility, it has grown from 8 employees to about 100 workers. The company is going to great lengths to hire still more people, with AnnArbor.com reporting that a company recruiter flies in a charter aircraft to communities as far away as Houghton in Michigan's upper peninsula. Such a trip is part of its "brisk hiring plan" for the Ann Arbor office, which is 542 miles away. The company said, “We’re actually, for the first time, looking outside the greater Detroit and Ann Arbor region, just because we have so many slots to fill." Barracuda's growth illustrates the economic potential of the IT security sector for the Ann Arbor region and the University of Michigan's computer science engineering program. See the AnnArbor.com Oct. 17, 2010, story, "IT security growth at Barracuda Networks, Arbor Networks illuminates opportunity for Ann Arbor." One estimate is that Barracuda would invest $2.55 million in Ann Arbor, according to mlive.com, Sept. 28, 2008, story "Barracuda Networks, ICON Creative Technologies to add nearly 250 jobs in Ann Arbor." (CD-OSG)
Facebook, based in Palo Alto, is investing $450 million in a data center near Forest City, North Carolina, which will open in 2012. According to PC Magazine, "The data center, located about 60 miles outside of Charlotte, will employ more than 250 construction and mechanical workers during the 18-month construction process and 35 to 45 full-time and contract workers once it opens. . . . Facebook said its data center will be one of the most energy efficient data centers in the U.S. via innovative cooling and power management technologies.. . . North Carolina is home to several high-tech data centers. Apple is set to open one in Maiden, NC "any day now," according to local officials. Google also has a $600 million data center in Lenoir, NC. In February, IBM announced that it would build a new, $362 million data center at its Research Triangle Park campus."See the Nov. 11, 2010, story "Facebook Building $450M North Carolina Data Center." The Associated Press observed that "One of the most important factors is relatively inexpensive power, important for facilities that can use as much electricity as a city of 50,000. Another is the climate: extremes of cold and heat are a challenge for facilities with huge amounts of sensitive electronic equipment. The climate around Rutherford County is so consistent that the local community college is called Isothermal Community College, for a meteorological term meaning identical or even temperatures." See the Nov. 11, 2010, story "Facebook Picks Site for Data Center." Note: The development is in addition to four other Facebook-sponsored out-of-California events. Note: All these companies save a fortune by avoiding California utility costs, which will only worsen beginning in 2012 with more California environmental regulations set to kick in. (CD-OSG)
GlobalFoundries, HQ'd in Milpitas, Calif., will create many jobs in Saratoga County, New York, where the Albany Times Union reports that the company "has been building its $4.6 billion chip factory, or "chip fab," in the town of Malta for the past 12 months [and the cost could reach] as high as $5 billion if GlobalFoundries goes ahead with an expansion of the facility." Known as Fab 8, it has sparked Applied Materials Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., and ASML of the Netherlands t hire engineers to work in Malta. The paper continued: "GlobalFoundries is also currently advertising about 150 jobs in Malta as it prepares to start installing tools at the facility and begin manufacturing. The fab is expected to start full-scale manufacturing by early 2013, with full-time employment expected to be roughly 1,400." The companies like to be located near the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. See more in the Dec. 3, 2010 story "Sign of fab jobs to come." See photos & sketches and other information about this massive project here. (CD-OSG)
InCube Labs, HQ'd in San Jose, will launch an Innovation Center in San Antonio, Texas, and will also launch five life science companies in that city over the next five years. InCube Labs is a Silicon Valley-based life sciences research laboratory. It's chairman and CEO, Mir Imran, has founded more than 20 companies, holds more than 200 patents, and with partners also manages a venture fund, InCube Ventures. It's expected that InCube will create at least 50 jobs within the business incubator with salaries ranging from $50,000 to over $200,000. The city expects that over ten years, InCube companies will create approximately 400 jobs and will spend about $100 million. InCube actively develops start-up companies, guiding them through scientific and technical development, clinical trials, and early-stage commercialization. "With San Antonio's research institutions, city officials and our partners in the business community, San Antonio has a solid foundation to become a preeminent center for life sciences innovation and entrepreneurship," said Imran. See the City of San Antonio press release, June 10, 2010, "InCube Labs to Create San Antonio Innovation Center." Also: the three related companies are, according to the San Antonio Express-News, "Corhythm Inc. with the heart failure device, Neurolink Inc. with the epilepsy device and Fe3 Medical Inc. with the iron patch." See the Sept. 28, 2010 story "3 firms coming to InCube in S.A.." (It seems fair to count these four companies as one relocation considering the joint ownership and their relatively small scale at this time.) (CD-OSG)
Intel, HQ'd in Santa Clara, will spend up to $8 billion to support future technology advancements and manufacturing in Arizona and Oregon. The investments will support the creation of 6,000-8,000 construction jobs and 800-1,000 permanent high-tech jobs. Included will be a new development fab in Oregon, as well as upgrades to four existing fabs to manufacture the next-generation 22-nanometer (nm) process technology. See the company's Oct. 19, 2010, news release "Intel Announces Multi-Billion-Dollar Investment in Next-Generation Manufacturing in U.S." The Oregonian reported: "Though Intel's headquarters are in California's Silicon Valley, the company's largest and most sophisticated operations are in Washington County. Intel employs 15,000 in the state, more than any other business, and those workers' payroll and benefits totaled $1.8 billion last year." See OregonLive.com Oct. 20, 2010 story, "Intel confirms it'll invest billions in Hillsboro plants." NOTE: Not included in these listing are Intel's expansions in China and Vietnam, which more clearly appear to be geared to market developments in Asia and therefore are placed in "Part II: Examples of Companies Excluded From California Disinvestment Event Listings." (CD-OSG)
ShoreTel Inc., based in Sunnyvale, which sells Internet-protocol business phone systems, opened a 90-person facility in August in Austin, Texas. The Austin American Statesman reported that "The company employs more than 90 people locally, and officials expect that number to double over the next two years." See the Aug. 18, 2010 story "As California tech firms get cozy in Austin, city woos more" (through NewsBank). The Austin Business Journal reported that "the new jobs will fall in engineering, customer service call center, training and development departments." See "ShoreTel hiring 150 in Austin." A company news release quoted the company's CEO, John W. Combs, as saying: “The beauty of the ShoreTel system is that it lets us have offices anywhere, while ensuring close collaboration among our teams. We looked at a number of locations outside of California, and Austin exceeded our expectations in many criteria, including work ethic, quality of education, local vibrancy and talent pool. We’re excited about joining the Austin community and welcoming more Austinites to the ShoreTel team.” See "ShoreTel Expands Operations with New Office Facilities in Austin, Texas." (CD-OSG)
SunPower Corp., a "green" company, HQ'd in San Jose, will create a new U.S. operations center in Austin, Texas, creating 450 jobs and generating an estimated $10 million in capital investment. The new facility will house marketing, legal, finance and accounting functions. SunPower Corp. designs, manufactures and delivers solar technology worldwide for residential, commercial and utility-scale power plant customers. SunPower CEO Tom Werner said: "Texas has great potential to become a significant solar market. If policies creating a stable solar market across Texas are enacted, this commitment by SunPower could be the start of significantly more investment and job creation in the state by the rapidly growing solar industry." See the news release: "Gov. Perry Announces TEF Investment Bringing 450 Jobs to Austin." (CD-OSG)
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SHASTA COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Morpheus Lights, an entertainment lighting company that relocated to Redding 12 years ago to escape Silicon Valley, consolidated operations at its Las Vegas headquarters in April. The Redding Record Searchlight reported that in 1998 Morpheus relocated from Santa Clara because "employees were concerned about San Francisco Bay area traffic and the high cost of living. Morpheus later moved its headquarters to Las Vegas but [until this year] kept its main production and manufacturing facility in Redding." See the Jan. 22, 2010 story "Morpheus Lights pulling out of Redding." (CLO and RELO-OS)
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SOLANO COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Dr. Pepper Snapple/7-Up bottling operation in Vallejo shut down on Oct. 18, 2010, even though soda-plant operations are growing in many other parts of the nation. The Vallejo Times-Herald reported a loss of more than 90 jobs. Operations will be consolidated with branches in Sacramento, Petaluma and San Leandro. A company spokesperson said, "Our decision to consolidate Bay Area operations was made as part of an ongoing effort to improve operating efficiency and serve our customers more effectively." See the Sept. 28, 2010 story "7UP bottling plant closing in Vallejo, more than 90 jobs lost" (through NewsBank). (CLO)
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STANISLAUS COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Hi-Tec Sports USA, based in Modesto for 30 years, is moving its corporate HQ to Portland, Oregon. It is a subsidiary of privately held Hi-Tec Sports plc of London, England. According to the Central Valley Business Times, about a dozen jobs will be affected; shipping and distribution will remain in Modesto. See the Oct. 11, 2010 story "Central Valley shoe company moves headquarters to Oregon." The Modesto Bee reported that the company's products are manufactured overseas. See the Oct. 11, 2010 story "Footwear maker moving its HQ." (CLO and RELO-OS)
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VENTURA COUNTY2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 2
Consolidated Electrical Distributors Inc. (CED) will relocate its corporate HQ from Westlake Village to Irving, Texas. The move will create 120 jobs and generate $3.3 million in capital investment in the area. Texas Gov. Rick Perry said: “Employers across the nation are looking for a job-friendly environment where they can succeed. Thanks to the Texas Enterprise Fund, low taxes, predictable regulations, a reformed legal system and increasingly accountable public schools, Texas continues to attract businesses and investment, and is the number one state for job creation in the U.S.” CED, a Forbes 125 private company, is one of the largest electrical distribution companies in the U.S. and one of the largest private companies in the nation. See the GovMonitor Oct. 22, 2010 story: "Consolidated Electrical Distributors Receives $1.2 Million TEF Investment, To Create 120 Jobs." (CLO and RELO-OS)
In-Three, HQ'd in Westlake Village, has been purchased by Digital Domain and most of the 70 jobs will be shifted to Port St. Lucie, Florida. The Los Angeles Times reported that "In-Three has been a pioneer in the field of converting movies into 3-D, a business that has taken off since the success of James Cameron's blockbuster 'Avatar.'" The paper quoted Cliff Plumer, Digital Domain's chief executive, that "I'd rather keep the jobs in California," but Florida is "more economical than California, I'm sorry to say." Plans are in the works for a Digital Domain Institute in West Palm Beach, a four-year program in advanced digital media supported by Florida State University. See the Nov. 19, 2010, story: "Effects studio Digital Domain buying In-Three and moving most of it out of state." Note: This move is separate from the previously reported Digital Domain moves to Florida and British Columbia. (CLO and RELO-OS)
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UNKNOWN CALIFORNIA COUNTY (OR COUNTIES?)2010 Events Reported for 1st Time Here Today: 1
Roche, a bioscience and pharmaceutical company HQ'd in Switzerland, after looking at California, scratched the state off its list for a new 500-employee facility in favor of Oro Valley, Arizona, a high-growth community near Tucson. The five-year project will have a capital investment value of about $180 million. According to the Arizona Daily Star, the new jobs at the Ventana Medical Systems subsidiary will have an average salary of $75,000. The facility will be located near a University of Arizona drug research lab, the university's Bio5 Institute, which helps move research into the marketplace, and a growing cluster of bioscience research companies. See the Oct. 13, 2010 story "Drug giant Roche to add 500 jobs here" (through NewsBank). Inside Tucson Business reported: "In landing the expansion, the Oro Valley site won out over three others Roche was considering — Indianapolis and unspecified locations in southern California and northern New Jersey, according to Joe Snell, president and CEO of Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities (TREO). . . . Indianapolis was considered a prime candidate because it is the headquarters of Roche Diagnostics. In New Jersey, Roche also has a small diagnostics facility in Branchburg . . . Ventana Medical President Hany Massarany said the company is already hiring . . . . 'At this site we have manufacturing, national sales and marketing, HR, IT, finance, and organizational positions so there will be a wide range of people we need to hire to fill our needs' . . . . Oro Valley Mayor Satish Hiremath said he believed his town’s eagerness to help contributed to Roche’s decision. 'While other cities may have thrown more money on the table up front to get this lured their way, it doesn’t make it up in the end if they have to spend another six to 12 months to build the site. Time is money and I believe that was a huge factor in making this possible,' Hiremath said." See more at Inside Tucson Business, Oct. 15, 2010 story, "How Oro Valley landed 500, $75,000 a-year jobs." Note Roche is familiar with Northern California in that Genentech, a biotechnology company and member of the Roche Group, has headquarters in South San Francisco. (CP)
