Oracle Shifting Headquarters Out Of Austin Solely 4 Years After Shifting Out Of California – California Globe
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison announced earlier this week that he was moving Oracle from Austin to Nashville, Tennessee, despite moving from California in the first place in 2020.
The software giant was originally headquartered in Santa Clara after its founding in 1977 and moved to Redwood Shores in 1989. Oracle grew into a giant with its headquarters in California. However, in the late 2010s, Oracle began to reconsider remaining in California due to tax issues and unbusiness-friendly practices. The pandemic sealed the deal the next year, as more flexible work policies for employees eliminated the need for such a large headquarters in California. In December 2020, Oracle announced its move to Texas. Ellison also left California and made Hawaii his permanent residence. Many companies also followed suit in 2020 and 2021, including Tesla, which also moved to Austin.
“Oracle is implementing a more flexible workplace policy for employees and has moved its corporate headquarters from Redwood City, California, to Austin, Texas,” Oracle said in its SEC filing in 2020. “We believe these moves best position Oracle for growth and offer our benefits.” Staff with more flexibility about where and how they work. For many of our employees, this means that, depending on their role, they can choose their office location as well as work from home part-time or continuously. Additionally, we will continue to support key Oracle headquarters 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 additional locations become over time. By implementing a more modern approach to work, we hope to further improve the quality of life and performance of our employees.”
At the time, Austin was planning to become a rival to Silicon Valley. But after just a few years, technology companies began to leave Austin. High costs, lack of support for start-ups, the climate, political differences and numerous other factors caused companies to leave the city. By 2023, most tech companies have either withdrawn their presence from the city, such as Meta, which moved its offices back to California, or disappeared entirely. Many moves were to Houston, Tulsa, Nashville, Miami or, perhaps more embarrassingly, back to Silicon Valley. While Oracle managed to hold on in 2023, they finally announced their move from Austin to Nashville this week.
During a conversation with former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on Tuesday, Ellison inadvertently said, “Oracle is moving its massive campus to Nashville and it will ultimately be our headquarters.”
Oracle is moving to Nashville
Then he added, “I shouldn't have said that.” However, with the move now open, Ellison said the move is strategic as Oracle continues to move into the healthcare industry and a move to Nashville would be better for them to expand into this industry. Although Ellison didn't say so, Oracle will also receive about $250 million in tax breaks from Nashville and Tennessee for the move.
“Nashville is also a fantastic place to live,” Ellison added. “It's a great place to raise a family. It has a unique and vibrant culture. And when we surveyed our employees, a large number of employees, Nashville ticked all the boxes. Nashville is also the center of the industry we are most concerned about, which is the healthcare industry.”
He also expanded the new campus itself. It is being designed by Apple Park designer Norman Foster, but looks more like a park than a corporate building.
“The new headquarters will be right on the river. There will be office buildings, a community clinic, restaurants, hotels and a concert hall, as well as a floating stage on the lake for concerts for the community. We want to be part of the community. Our people love it here. And we believe it is the center of our future.”
Experts told the Globe on Friday that the departure of tech companies from Austin or Texas is now in line with what companies do in 2020 when they leave California.
“A lot of companies moved to Texas, particularly Austin, because the state promised them a lot and they thought Austin was this trendy city,” explained San Francisco-based technology attorney David Singh. “But as they discovered, a lot of people absolutely hated Texas. Many companies that moved there were shocked by the number of employees who wanted to leave and go back to work in California or elsewhere a year later, when their original leases expired. They really hated the heat in Texas and house costs were still very high. Not high in San Francisco, but still high enough. For companies, especially startups, they found they had little room to grow in Austin. They stayed away from almost all the investors who were supposed to give them guidance, and they stayed away from the big tech scenes.”
“That's why the 'Texas Miracle' ended so quickly. That's why AI companies remain in Silicon Valley and San Francisco despite the numerous problems there. Everyone is there and can grow faster there. Oracle needed a place to continue growing, and Austin wasn't the right place. It was Nashville because of all the healthcare companies there.
“It will be interesting to see what presence, if any, Oracle maintains in Austin following the move. Oracle still has numerous offices in California because the company likes to be connected to the technology and software community. But Austin? There’s not much connection.”
More information on Oracle's move to Tennessee is coming soon.
