Companies relocating out San Diego…

[Coronita]

Ouch….
One down, 3 to go…

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/feb/06/texas-austin-perry-jobs-economy-websense/

Websense gets $4.5M to move to Texas

Vista Equity, with $7.8 billion in assets, last year also bought San Diego-based fleet-tracking company Omnitracs from Qualcomm for $800 million cash, and events registration software company Active Network for $1 billion. That has led to speculation that those companies could be relocating. A call to Vista Equity’s San Francisco office was not returned. Websense released a statement from CEO John McCormack but a spokeswoman declined to comment further, citing final due diligence in the deal.

Vista Equity, based in Austin, has a reputation for buying companies and moving them to Texas, said Mark Cafferty, CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. Cafferty said nearly three months of efforts by the EDC to meet with the firm’s local officials were not successful, but he also noted the organization would continue reaching out to Websense.

“Austin does have the closing dollars from Gov. Perry and does have limited regulation and ease of restrictions, and it’s Austin,” Cafferty said. “We talk about the well-educated, smart young talent we have in San Diego and Austin has that, so the reality is that Austin has that and it’s got the benefits of Texas.”

Cafferty said the EDC gets calls weekly from companies who ask about benefits the state can offer to compete with Texas.

“We do the best we can,” he said, noting that the latest efforts are to get at the front of the line for the new California Competes credit.

[The-Shoveler]

I have been to Austin (several times), Not my cup of tea.

If I had to move there I would be planning my escape from day one.

[Coronita]

[quote=The-Shoveler]I have been to Austin, Not my cup of tea.

If I had to move there I would be planning my escape from day one.[/quote]

I’m trying to follow ucgal’s lead into trying to retire early… Hopefully before I turn 40…. errrr….

scratch that… make that now 41….

[The-Shoveler]

I had that plan,

Funny something always seems to happen to throw a wrench into the machinery.

In my case it worked out for the better in the end.

[The-Shoveler]

The biggest problem with being force to relocate is that especially with families it does not take long to get tied down with kids in school, maybe the spouse gets a good job and then POW!!

All your plans for escape go out the window and you just live with it,

I think they plan it that way IMO, they know what they are doing.

[spdrun]

Are there enough other tech companies and startups in San Diego to absorb the workforce? Frankly, a change of firm you’re working for isn’t the end of the world.

This being said, if the majority of the workforce wants to stay in San Diego, they need to show some testicular fortitude and tell management “N-O! And I’m not training a replacement either. If you move, it was nice working for you, but I’m not lifting a pinky to help you.” If they’re faced with losing ~80% of their employees suddenly and having to hire and train a lot of people, they might be forced to reconsider.

BTW – refusal to relocate a significant distance is not grounds for denial of unemployment benefits, either. Unless the job contract required travel, a job 1500 miles away is not considered “suitable work.”

[The-Shoveler]

There is usually a carrot and stick involved tied to time.

i.e.… Stock options and relocation package versus being kicked to the curb,

The trick is not to get stuck (well unless that is what you want).

It seems extremely hard not to get stuck however.

[spdrun]

If a large proportion of a company’s employees refuse the package, the only “stick” will be the one that the CEO is being beaten with.

This being said, thankfully, I work mostly with small businesses whose owners would rather make sweet love to a rabid squirrel than leave NYC 🙂

[flyer]

Not surprising that Texas desperately offers incentives to companies to relocate–they have nothing else to offer. I’ve had layovers in TX over the years, and, even that was more than I could stand.

[spdrun]

I heard Austin is nice. Not San Diego nice, and not necessarily pleasant to relocate to per force, but that it doesn’t meet the worse stereotypes of TX either.

[The-Shoveler]

Yea you keep hearing how people are moving to TX, but most of those people are on the lower end of the earnings spectrum.

I have seen some really depressing areas in TX.

Even in Austin.

[spdrun]

SD Co has some pretty depressing areas as well, for all it’s worth. Think El Cajon.

[EconProf]

My CPA moved to Texas ten years ago so now I have to mail him my tax info. He had kids in their teens and said the schools were far superior, the government and people more friendly, and everything’s cheaper. Climate’s worse, but not much worse since he lived in El Cajon.
The exodus from CA to TX is well documented, and has only just begun. As the April tax deadlines approach, the high earning Californians are now looking at a (just raised) 13.3 percent marginal tax rate compared to Texas…0.

[paramount]

California = Single party rule

All of the negative comments about texas don’t surprise me given the superficial nature of so cal/SD.

[spdrun]

Oh please — a 3% (meaning 5-10% of total tax burden) tax hike isn’t going to make people stay or leave a state. Especially since the highest tax is on income above $1 million. They’re already paying decent bank to live in California.

The people affected moving to Texas would be like Donald Trump moving out of NYC because his property taxes went up 10%. Right.

Though I have to say that prop 30 raising taxes retroactively was dirty ball — and possibly illegal since the Federal prohibition against ex post facto laws applies to states as well.

[Author]

Posts