Oracle Is Moving Its Headquarters From Silicon Valley To Austin, Texas (cnbc.com) 111
Oracle said on Friday it's moving its headquarters from the Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas. CNBC reports: "Oracle is implementing a more flexible employee work location policy and has changed its Corporate Headquarters from Redwood City, California to Austin, Texas. We believe these moves best position Oracle for growth and provide our personnel with more flexibility about where and how they work," a spokesperson confirmed to CNBC. A bulk of employees can choose their office location, or continue to work from home part time or full time, the company said.
"In addition, we will continue to support major hubs for Oracle around the world, including those in the United States such as Redwood City, Austin, Santa Monica, Seattle, Denver, Orlando and Burlington, among others, and we expect to add other locations over time," Oracle said. "By implementing a more modern approach to work, we expect to further improve our employees' quality of life and quality of output." Oracle is one of Silicon Valley's older success stories, founded in Santa Clara in 1977. It moved into its current headquarters in 1989. Several of the buildings on its campus there are constructed in the shape of a squat cylinder, which is the classic symbol in computer systems design for a database, the product on which Oracle built its empire.
"In addition, we will continue to support major hubs for Oracle around the world, including those in the United States such as Redwood City, Austin, Santa Monica, Seattle, Denver, Orlando and Burlington, among others, and we expect to add other locations over time," Oracle said. "By implementing a more modern approach to work, we expect to further improve our employees' quality of life and quality of output." Oracle is one of Silicon Valley's older success stories, founded in Santa Clara in 1977. It moved into its current headquarters in 1989. Several of the buildings on its campus there are constructed in the shape of a squat cylinder, which is the classic symbol in computer systems design for a database, the product on which Oracle built its empire.
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Austin (Travis County mostly) is central Texas, and isn't included in the eastern court district (http://www.txed.uscourts.gov/?q=court-locator).
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They just wanted to be in the eastern district of Texas to make sure they have technically illiterate judges making bad law on software patents.
Only problem with your analogy is that Austin is not in the Eastern District. It's in the Western District. They should have moved to Tyler... ;)
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And since 2011, very little water, period. The ground water table has not recovered from the drought of that year. It has only gotten worse since. The water people in the Texas government even conclude that global warming means Texas is headed for a much drier future.
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He's got a MIG, he can fly to the coast in minutes.
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Where will Larry put is racing sail boat? Austin is a long way from the Gulf of Mexico...
LOL, He'll simply re-arrange Texas so the Gulf of Mexico comes close to Austin.
Maybe I shouldn't joke about that... He might do it.
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Well, Austin has a lot of Fabulous Gays, whereas Oracle is more of the boring gay with a closet full of beige and navy.
Bad news for shareholders (Score:1)
The reasoning behind this is obviously if the shareholders try to vote out the current board for mismanagement the board can just sue and get the vote overturned.
Re: Bad news for shareholders (Score:3, Insightful)
Looks to me like the Supreme Court just took a big pair of hedge clippers and snipped those balls off
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One? The count is up to several dozen lawsuits now, with 0.0% success rate. I'm actually amazed they can't find a crooked judge anywhere.
Good Riddance (Score:1)
Hey Larry-- Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.
The Long Game (Score:4, Interesting)
Texas has been working the long game on this strategy -- the tax and regulation issues aside, there has been lots of infrastructure work in the Austin and surrounding areas (roads, broadband, airport, etc.). Proximity to the University of Texas (UT) system in Austin, plus being in the capital. Events such as SXSW and other cultural draws that will help with recruiting. I won't be surprised if we see more relocations in the days ahead.
The DEMOCRATS are working the long game (Score:2, Insightful)
College educated voters = democrats. We want Texas. This year we lost by 6%, four years it will be 2%, 8 years from now we will WIN Texas.
All because of those sweet sweet tech jobs we got you addicted to.
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Well, Austin is already pretty liberal...
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Works for House and State Senate.
We Dems still get the Presidency, Governor, and with a bit of work, the federal Senators.
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Company X is moving to Texas! (Score:5, Insightful)
Every week another monster corp announces a headquarters move to Texas, usually from California or similar. Last week it was HP moving to Houston. Two days ago Musk moving to BFE Texas to be with his rockets and get away from Cali regs and taxes or something. Other recent announcements include: Charles Schwab, AT&T, McKesson and PGA of America.
Every time this happens the same sad, predictable bunch of arguments erupts. Since it's easy to anticipate the content of these threads I shall compile responses in a concise, possibly amusing list. This will save us all time and possibly a few brain cells going forward. The categories (plus the most obvious seed arguments) will include:
Company X moving to Texas is Great Because:
[ ] We didn't want that company anyhow.
[ ] Texas is absorbing our zombie corps and making way for better companies
Company X moving to Texas is Terrible Because:
[ ] They'll bring their libruls and wreck the state
[ ] There goes the neighborhood.
[ ] Pretty soon Cali's economy will collapse and the commie libtards will have to <fill in pathetic fate here>
Company X moving to Texas Doesn't Matter Because:
[ ] They're just moving the headquarters
Other:
[ ] Hey So-And-So Hated CEO — Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.
[ ] Why is this on Slashdot?
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Texas sued to overturn the elections - let that sink in.
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And they just got their asses handed them them by SCOTUS
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Nice to see DJIA breaking 30K *after* Biden won - surely Wall Street rigged that as well.
Go cry some more...your L is ready for pickup!
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Texas sued to overturn the elections - let that sink in.
No, our criminal sleazebag under indictment state AG sued to overturn the elections. Hell, none of his staff even supported it.
I normally don't think in conspiratorial terms, but I think the guy was gunning for a Trump pardon. The FBI visited his office just the other day. He's gonna go to prison sooner or later.
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You missed one:
[ ] It doesn't matter either way since everyone works remotely now.
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Thank you for your contribution.
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Company X Moves To Texas v0.2
Company X moving to Texas is Great Because:
[_] We didn't want that company anyhow.
[_] Texas is absorbing our zombie corps and making way for better companies.
[_] Pretty soon Cali's economy will collapse and the commie libtards will have to <fill in pathetic fate here>.
[_] It's headed by Trumpers so good riddance.
[_] We need Texas to be a blue state by <fill in impending election year here>!
[_] Ellison is a Trump supporter and Elon was a Covid denier.
[_] San
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AT&T
The current AT&T is a renaming of the old Southwestern Bell after they bought up most of the other baby bells, along with the long distance division that had kept the original name. Originally in the long distant past I think its HQ was in Kansas City, but for a long time the HQ was in San Antonio. Then in 2008 it moved to Dallas. So I'm not sure where you're getting this "recent announcement" thing from.
Sad to see these companies go but.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Companies moving to Texas are headed up by Trumpers - Ellison is a Trump supporter. Elon was a Covid denier.
Two things can be true (Score:5, Informative)
Two things can be true:
1.) The state of California is pushing businesses out due to onerous tax/regulatory environment, as well as the general anti-business attitude prevalent in much of the populace and political representatives
2.) Oracle and HP are 40+ year old companies with little left to offer except for nostalgia of bygone days. The loss to California is not a great one.
Having said that, the direction things are going Silicon Valley can very easily end-up as a tech rust belt town. Historically speaking there were technologically dominant communities in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Dayton, Detroit for their times which seemed impervious due to the network affect, family ties, and established supply lines. Those communities evaporated over the course of a few decades. Nothing preventing the same thing from happening elsewhere at another period of time.
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Actually, not only California but the entire world would be better off if Oracle would just do the right thing and vanish in a puff of greasy black smoke immediately.
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bugs, humidity, and snarled traffic (Score:3)
Geez; did they even visit Austin before making this decision? Even if you wanted to have a picnic in a park in Austin, you can't because 1) the snarled traffic will prevent you from getting there by lunchtime, 2) the humidity and heat makes being outside uncomfortable just in general, and even if you make it then 3) the fire ants will chew your ass (literally) if you play on the grass.
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And keep going (Score:2)
Dear Larry, don't stop at Austin, just keep going until you reach the sea. Then just continue until there nothing remains but a bit of brown slime drifting off in the general direction of Mexico.
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Is Ellison even running the place anymore? Used to be, his mere bathroom gurgles would get quoted in headlines nationwide. But over the last decade or so, he seems to have dropped off the face of the earth.
Perspective (Score:1)
California still has the most billionaires. [forbes.com] Losing a few won't end the state.
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The press only talks about those who leave, not those who arrive or grow rich in CA.
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California still has the most billionaires. [forbes.com] Losing a few won't end the state.
California can keep their billionaires. As long as California's sending Texas good jobs, we won't mind one little bit if their billionaires stay behind..
Joins a wealth of others.. (Score:1)
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It's so good that maybe California could adopt some of these same policies to keep these companies from moving. Can they fathom that? Not likely if they keep sending Pelosi to the US House.
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How big is the lake? (Score:2)
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Would the last company to leave California turn -- (Score:2)
Oh, nevermind. They'll already be out before they leave, because PG&E can't keep 'em on.
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Bad news for employees (Score:1)
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giving the finger to their employees.
If the employees are working from home, why would they care where the HQ is?
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giving the finger to their employees.
If the employees are working from home, why would they care where the HQ is?
That's not how moving businesses in the US works. This will be a wholesale housecleaning. Did you think that the move to Texas ill just be a Post office address?
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Moving to a new location is an option to clean out "dead wood". Productive employees are given the opportunity to tele-commute, a nice relocation stipend, or whatever it takes (within reason) to keep them with the company. The rest are given a separation stipend, the phone numbers and website addresses to some employment agencies, and wishes of good fortune in the future.
Moving to a state with lower tax rates is just a bonus. There's a lot of legal issues in letting employees go, and most of them evapora
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But the tax situation might not change much, the savings is in real estate. That's because they still have physical presence and earnings in many states, and around the world.
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But the tax situation might not change much, the savings is in real estate. That's because they still have physical presence and earnings in many states, and around the world.
The next move is to China.
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The next move is to China.
Nope.
China = Hardware.
India = Software
Oracle is a software company. Go to their offices in Redwood City and you will feel like you are in Mumbai. Half their management team is Indian and many developers are as well.
Disclaimer: I love Mumbai.
Re: Texas is a great place if you are out of ideas (Score:2)
If the saving are in real estate, Austin is the worst place in Texas to move to.
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Austin describes a metro area, not just a city. Move outside city limits and there is plenty of cheap land.
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Mod parent up. Sadly.
But I would add: There goes the neighborhood.
But we Texians can still hope that Ellison chooses to work remotely.
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Tell that to Elon Musk [cnn.com].
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For Elon Musk, one reason to move to Texas is because SpaceX is already doing a lot of their space stuff in Texas, and the reason for doing space stuff in Texas is because Texas is close to equator (as US states go).
Not that I blame him for fleeing California.
What does innovation have to do with California? (Score:5, Interesting)
Texas is the place to be for companies that can't compete for innovation
That seems like a pretty ignorant and frankly bigoted/egotistical statement to me.
In recent years just how much innovation has come out of California?
Meanwhile the Starship is being built and tested in Texas...
Austin especially, is chock full of technical people. Just ones who are not as full of themselves as most Californians seem to be.
To flip your statement on it's head, wouldn't it more more correct these days to say California is where a lazy company with no innovation left just lays on the couch all day eating chips instead of putting in the work to move to fresh exciting locations where workers are less flaky.
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To flip your statement on it's head, wouldn't it more more correct these days to say California is where a lazy company with no innovation left just lays on the couch all day eating chips instead of putting in the work to move to fresh exciting locations where workers are less flaky.
Silicon Valley is the home of the constantly connected startup drone, tied to their laptop/phone 24/7.
There are absolutely examples of corporate laziness out here, just like anywhere, but overworked and burned out workers are far more common.
I understand your comment is reacting to the previous comment, but it's way off-base.
Have you even been to California?
Busy can disguise Lazy (Score:1)
Silicon Valley is the home of the constantly connected startup drone, tied to their laptop/phone 24/7.
Sure, but what are they really doing differently, year after year? What are they doing that is new?
Simply doing the same thing over and over is in itself a form of laziness, even if it takes a lot of work... just ask any computer programmer who does the same onerous chore again and again because they are too lazy to script it.
Have you even been to California?
So, so many times... but more than that I've had
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Meanwhile the Starship is being built and tested in Texas...
This has zero to do with anything relating to California's governance (and do note that the Raptor engines are made and all the design work is still done in Hawthorne). Starship is being built and tested in Boca Chica for two reasons - first is that you need an east-facing coast for your launch site so you're not launching retrograde or risking dropping rocket parts on a populated area, and second is that Starship is way too big to effectively shi
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Maybe before all the Californians moved in.
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Re:Texas is a great place if you are out of ideas (Score:4, Insightful)
Houston, TX, 1982, white room reverse engineering of the IBM PC, creating the IBM compatible.
Texas and California have comparable rates of engineering employment. It comes from the fact that both are historically petrostates. Oil money build the computer in the US. Oil, unlike other minerals, depends on computational power. A lot of innovation in solving linear equation is a result of oil investment
About the only objection might be that the rate of black and Hispanic people are twice that of San Fransisco. And of course the rent is actually very cheap. Your 2 million for a shack buy a lakefront house.
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First, California and states like it legitimately struggle to provide basic resources to the population, like electricity and water. Much of the people live in deserts. We see power outages regularly even though Texas and California both have the same 20% renewables. And California also generates 4 times as must power as Texas from nuclear, which should make it more reliable. There are few places in Texas where a swimming pool is not an option.
This lack of resources means th
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Re:Texas is a great place if you are out of ideas (Score:5, Interesting)
Austin resident here... Texas loots its residents much more effectively than CA.
My property taxes have doubled in less that ten years. I pay more in taxes to Texas than I would in CA with a comparable income and house.
The “we don’t have a state income tax” line sounds good in theory, but in practice it’s a scam.
Then there’s also the fact that commercial real estate is taxed differently and at significantly lower rates than residential. There’s a reason Tesla and Oracle are moving here...
Re: Texas is a great place if you are out of ideas (Score:2)
What's less average spending money in everyone's pocket do for your business? More penny pinching, putting off maintenance, repairs, large purchases, etc. Is lower purchasing power good for your business?
It doesn't take a degree in rocket surgery to see that taking all your revenue from one spigot of the economy is dumb.
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That's why rich and business move here. Property taxes, while arguably useful, are not as progressive as taxes on income.
Re: Texas is a great place if you are out of ideas (Score:2)
Texas is the place to be for companies that can't compete for innovation.
Fuck you. Texas is a state that doesn't try to loot everything they can think of the way that the People's Republic of California does.
This is just dumb and dumberer. First, projecting irrational Oracle hate onto Texas and all business in and coming to the state. Then, hur dur but California!
Texas has the highest property tax rates in the country by property value, and moderately high sales tax, because it has no income tax. Do you realize what that would make a "Silicon Austin" look like? Property values will rise, and we will have the highest tax rate per $100,000 in value in the country. We're only tenth in the country for overall