2021-05-19 ACGSV/SVDX Flying the Coop - Why Are Companies Leaving SV, Will There Be Regrets
Silicon Valley heavyweights HP and Oracle have moved outside of the state and prompted critics to ask if California has been taking tech companies and their employees for granted. The high cost of living (especially housing), relatively high taxes with the potential for additional increases in taxation, and a more aggressive regulatory environment for a wide range of matters that impact company operations and their employees, contractors, and vendors appears to have spurred a departure “to greener pastures” (or at least less taxing and expensive ones) for several companies who have long been staples of the Silicon Valley landscape. Is this trend real? Does it matter? Will a shift in technology company headquarters alter the power balance in the Bay Area, or will Silicon Valley continue to be the same tech powerhouse it has always been with or without certain brand name (and often mature) technology companies claiming California as home? How does the pandemic and resulting shift to more remote workers impact this trend? If a company “remains” in California but all the employee growth accrues outside the state (or country), is that better or worse than an actual formal relocation to elsewhere?
This panel will examine the reasoning behind company relocations, the trends behind the data, the possible impacts to the state if these trends continue or accelerate, and what it all might (or might not) mean for your company in the future.