HP follows Tesla founder Elon Musk in Texas move

HP has joined the Silicon Valley exodus of tech companies by relocating its headquarters from California to Texas. The move sees them follow in the footsteps of Oracle and Tesla founder Elon Musk who announced his decision to shift his headquarters to Houston in Texas after a spat with California officials over COVID-19 restrictions.

While Silicon Valley was traditionally regarded as the vanguard of technological innovation, there has been a sea change in attitudes over the past few months and HP is not alone in recognising the benefits that Texas has to offer. And HP’s decision is viewed in all quarters as being a purely commercial choice.

Big plans

Certainly, there are big plans in Texas as far as HP is concerned. Reports have suggested that HP will move to the Houston area and they intend to build a campus with two five-storey buildings by 2022.

An HP company statement read: “HPE’s largest US employment hub, Houston is an attractive market to recruit and retain future diverse talent and is where the company is currently constructing a state-of-the-art new campus.

“The Bay Area will continue to be a strategic hub for HPE innovation, and the company will consolidate a number of sites in the Bay Area to its San Jose campus.”

HP sees the move as a terrific opportunity and like Oracle, they believe that Texas has something substantial to offer. However, unlike Oracle, it is unclear whether employees will have the flexibility to work from home.

Decision welcomed

HP is the latest in a long line of tech companies to take the plunge and head to Texas. Currently, Houston is HP’s largest US employment hub and while they will still have ties in California, the move has been welcomed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who hailed the company’s decision.

He said: “We are excited that Hewlett Packard Enterprise has chosen to call Texas home, and I thank them for expanding their investment in the Lone Star State by relocating their headquarters to the Houston region.

“Hewlett Packard Enterprise joins more than 50 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the Lone State, including 22 in the Houston area alone. We look forward to a successful partnership with HPE, as together we build a more prosperous future for Texas.” – as reported by InkEvolved.com

Houston has continued to be a digital hub and for companies like HPE, the business climate is more conducive as taxes are lower and the quality of life compared to other areas in the USA.

Impact of move

HP has allayed fears over the future of its employees by indicating there is no immediate risk of redundancies. The company will continue to invest in expanding their existing talent. Apart from Abbott, HP’s move to Texas has been praised by other senators, who have labelled it a ‘smart’ move.

A new location does not necessarily mean new problems, so we hope to spend our office time in 2021 with reviews of the newest printers, and less with troubleshooting them.