by Dr. Susan Berry
On Wednesday, Connecticut’s new governor, Democrat Dannel Malloy, presented his
first budget, one that includes a $1.5 billion tax hike in the first year and only slightly less in the second year of the two-year cycle. The tax increase is one of the largest in the state’s history, and one that will hit, primarily, middle class families. The governor hopes to raise income taxes, the state sales tax, and taxes on cigarettes, gasoline, alcohol, and estates. Malloy’s budget would eliminate a $500 property tax credit, a “tax-free” shopping week prior to school’s opening, and a sales tax exemption for clothing, haircuts, pet grooming, non-prescription drugs, car washes, and many other items and services. The governor and his advisers are referring to this tax hike as “shared sacrifice” in a state that is already one of the highest taxed in the nation.
With the highest per capita debt in the nation, Connecticut shares only with the state of Michigan the distinction of having no job growth over the past 20 years. The projected budget deficit next year is approximately $3.5 billion. Yet, Malloy’s budget would provide a $1700 earned income tax credit for those making less than $21,500 per year (those who pay little, if any, taxes), and would allow both an increase in overall spending by 2.4% and $1 billion in borrowing in each of the next two years. The governor calls this budget “putting Connecticut’s house in order.”
The governor says he wants to cut $750 million from various state programs next year, and will ask the state’s employees to give up $2 billion in salary and union concessions over a two-year period. What is missing, however, are the details of the concessions unions will make as well as some of his proposed budget reductions. When a governor is so detailed about tax increases but provides little information about spending cuts and union concessions, one can only suspect that he will be relying on tax payers to meet his ends.
In fact, John Olsen, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, said that the governor’s $1.5 billion tax hike had to go higher. State employees spokesman, Larry Dorman, also responded to Malloy’s suggestion of union concessions, saying that Connecticut has a revenue problem, not a spending one.
The unions were big supporters of Malloy’s campaign. When he secured the endorsement of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001, union president Catherine Osten said Malloy would be a “once in a lifetime” governor for them. Clearly, this incestuous relationship suggests Malloy will not be as tough on the unions as he is on taxpayers. It also suggests the likelihood of even more businesses, and families, leaving the state.
While most states, regardless of the party of the leadership, are realizing that the notion of endless government spending, courtesy of taxpayers, is nothing more than a fantasy, Connecticut seems poised to join the ranks of California and Illinois- the few states that are still in the grips of power-hungry union leaders, who continue to dangle now imaginary carrots in front of sheep-like followers. The leaders of these states are using the usual liberal guilt trip of “shared sacrifice” to extricate more funds from citizens who are already sharply cutting expenses from their household budgets. It’s time for these states to stop their finger-wagging at taxpayers and learn from those leaders who are demonstrating that they are prepared for the hard work of governing.
California is borrowing $40 million a day from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits.
The Los Angeles Times reports the state will have a $362 million bill for interest alone due on a total debt of $10 billion next fall.
California is an economic disaster zone, with one in every eight workers unemployed. More than 1.2 million Californians have lost their jobs.
Monday, June 20, 2011Calif. Business Departures Increasing --
Now Five Times Higher Than In 2009
Today, California is experiencing the fastest rate of disinvestment events based on public domain information, closure notices to the state, and information from affected employees in the three years since a specialized tracking system was put into place.
Out-of-state economic development officials are traveling through the state to alert frustrated business owners and corporate executives to their friendlier business climate versus California's hostility toward commercial enterprises.
From Jan. 1 of this year through this morning, June 16, we have had 129 disinvestment events occur, an average of 5.4 per week.
For all of last year, we saw an average of 3.9 events per week.
Comparing this year thus far with 2009, when the total was 51 events, essentially averaging 1 per week, our rate today is more than 5 times what it was then.
The same tracking system has been in place throughout the three-year period.
Our losses are occurring at an accelerated rate. Also, no one knows the real level of activity because smaller companies are not required to file layoff notices with the state. A conservative estimate is that only 1 out of 5 company departures becomes public knowledge, which means California may suffer more than 1,000 disinvestment events this year. The capital directed to out-of-state or out-of-country, while difficult to calculate, is nonetheless in the billions of dollars.
The top five destinations are (1) Texas, (2) Arizona, (3) Colorado, (4) Nevada and Utah tied; and (5) Virginia and North Carolina tied.
Based on the legislature’s recent rejection of business-friendly legislation and Sacramento’s implementation of additional regulations, signs are that California’s hostility towards business will only worsen.
California is such fertile ground that representatives for economic development agencies are visiting companies to dissect our high taxes, extreme regulatory environment and other expenses to show annual savings of between 20 and 40 percent after an out-of-state move.
Officials from 14 states are making such presentations, namely: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia – and Ohio is soon to be packing their bags for visits here. These are only the ones I know about; there may be others. Even the states that aren’t visiting are emailing, calling and sending letters to solicit California companies to move outright or select an out-of-state location when expanding.
Here is the latest list of events:
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #129
WayIn LLC
Out-of-State Location: Colorado (perhaps Denver)
California Community: Silicon Valley
California County: Santa Clara
Information: Sun Microsystems co-founder and ex-CEO Scott McNealy has a new startup, WayIn LLC. Silicon Valley Biz Blog reported that "Thanks to [McNealy's] Twitter feed, we know the company [will] be headquartered in Colorado. Wait, what? Colorado? What happened to Silicon Valley?" McNealy "explained his reasoning, tweeting a Top 10 Reasons it's Better to do a Startup in Colorado than California:
10. Rocky Mountain powder beats Tahoe bunny slopes.
9. 11% income tax in CA vs. a 4.63% flat rate in CO
8. CO is a safer distance from Sacramento (but it is closer to DC...)
7. $1.5 million buys a dump in Silicon Valley, a ranch in CO.
6. In CO, the water is from CO. In CA, the water is from CO.
5. In CO, a traffic jam still moves, but the earth does not.
4. From CO, the redeye to New York is only half as bad.
3. In CO, I can hit my drives 300+ yards again
2. LoDo, CO has better views than Mountain View, CA [LoDo stands for Denver's Lower Downtown]
1. WayIn is HQ'd in CO, home of our CEO @TomJessiman and a great team.
Obviously, he's not being entirely serious with this list, but there's some legitimate gripes in there as well."
Source: Silicon Valley BizBlog June 16, 2011 story, "Sun founder Scott McNealy shuns Silicon Valley for startup."
More Information: TechCrunch reported that Scott McNealy "has raised close to $6.4 million in financing for one of his new ventures, stealth startup WayIn , an SEC filing reveals."
Source: TechCrunch, June 7, 2011 story, "Sun Co-Founder Scott McNealy Raises $6.4 Million For Stealth Startup WayIn."
Type of Event: (CD-OSG)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #128
Aero Fluid Products
Out-of-State Location: Dispersed
California Community Facility: Simi Valley
California County: Ventura
Information: The Ventura County Star reported that the company will close its facility in October, eliminating 82 jobs, adding: "The aerospace and design manufacturer is a division of the AeroControlex Group and a subsidiary of Cleveland-based TransDigm Group Inc., which acquired the company's previous owner, Telair International Inc., late last year. When the acquisition happened, the city was led to believe that everything would remain in place in Simi Valley, said [a local official, but] the new owner changed its mind and decided to absorb the manufacturing unit into existing facilities outside the area."
Source: Ventura County Star, May 27, 2011 story, "Aerospace manufacturer plans to leave Simi Valley." Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #127
Allegro Industries
Out-of-State Location: Anderson, South Carolina
California Community HQ or Facility: Garden Grove
California County: Orange
Information: In May the company announced plans to move to South Carolina to accommodate the company’s significant growth. The new 50,000 square foot custom-built facility in the Greenville, SC area will improve manufacturing capabilities and overall service. The move will occur in stages from October 2011 to January 2012, with key management relocating in the first stage. “We’ve been in Southern California for 24 years and we’re incredibly grateful to the communities and to the employees who have been part of the Allegro family from the beginning,” says Tom Johnston, President. “The move to South Carolina will allow us to keep pace with our growth and continue to exceed our customers’ expectations everyday.”
Source: Company announcement, May 12, 2011, "Allegro Industries Moves to South Carolina to Accommodate Continued Growth and Expansion."
More Information: The safety-products company will put forward an initial capital investment of $1.65 million, which will create 45 new jobs.
Source: Anderson County Economic Development news release, May, 2, 2011, "Allegro Industries Announces New Facility in Anderson County."
More Information: According to the Anderson Independent Mail, "The plant that Allegro Industries plans to have built in Upstate South Carolina will be the safety-products company’s new headquarters .... 'They are bringing their whole operation to our region,' said Burriss Nelson, Anderson County’s economic development director .... Anderson County Council member Cindy Wilson, said Anderson County should 'raid California some more.'"
Source: Anderson Independent Mail story, May 3, 2011, "Anderson County Council approves incentives for Allegro Industries."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #126
Altera Corp.
Out-of-State Location: Austin, Texas
California Community HQ or Facility: San Jose
California County: Santa Clara
Information: The San Jose Business Journal reported that "Veteran San Jose-based chipmaker Altera Corp. is preparing to open an Austin research and development center that will employ between 200 and 300 people .... The company develops customizable chips used most for equipment in communications, industrial, broadcast, computer and storage, medical and other markets. 'We looked all over the world, but nowhere really compared to Austin, in terms of engineering talent,' Altera spokesman Steve Gabriel said." Officials are in the final stages of leasing in Southwest Austin and should open sometime in the next two months.
Source: San Jose Business Journal May, 6, 2011 story, "San Jose chipmaker opening Austin R&D center."
More Information: "Bradley Howe of Altera Corporation said the area's talent pool and overall environment 'is a good fit for us as we continue to grow.'"
Source: Area Development Online News Desk, May 13, 2011, "Three California Firms Announce Plans to Join Austin’s Tech Sector."
Type of Event: (CD-OSG)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #125
Altron, Inc.
Out-of-State Location: Unknown
California Community Facility: Laguna Niguel
California County: Orange
Information: According to a notice filed with the state, the company has closed its Laguna Niguel facility, laying off 74 people in mid-January. The company's "About Us" website page shows addresses for its South Carolina headquarters and for offices in Virginia and New Hampshire; it does not show a California office. No other information about the closure appears to be posted online.
Source: WARN Notice. (pdf)
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #124
Amiad USA
Out-of-State Location: Mooresville, North Carolina
California Community HQ or Facility: Oxnard
California County: Ventura
Information: The Charlotte Business Journal reported that Amiad USA will move its HQ to Mooresville where it "also will be combined with an existing Mooresville business, PEP Filters/Arkal Filtration Systems, which is Israeli owned." Amiad USA has been based in Oxnard for 20 years. Reportedly, some California employees will relocate.
Source: Charlotte Business Journal, May 26, 2011 story, "Amiad USA consolidating to Mooresville."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #123
Aptera Motors, Inc.
Out-of-State Location: Unknown - Likely east of the Mississippi River
California Community HQ or Facility: Oceanside
California County: San Diego
Information: In an article about the "green" company, the North County Times reported that Aptera, "which once had big plans to hire thousands to design and manufacture ultra-efficient cars in Oceanside, is trimming costs by moving its headquarters to Carlsbad while it searches for a factory in the auto-rich region east of the Mississippi River. 'We are really scrutinizing our business,' said Paul B. Wilbur, president and chief executive of Aptera Motors .... Aptera employs about 50 people, but could see its workforce grow to a "couple hundred" by later this year ---- far short of the 500 at corporate headquarters and the many thousands that it originally envisioned as part of an auto manufacturing hub in Oceanside. Wilbur said that California economic officials did little to offer an attractive package of tax abatements, incentives and other carrots to keep Aptera's manufacturing in the state. 'Economically, it's just more affordable to build elsewhere. The numbers were never big enough for me to ever write them down,' he said of Aptera's courtship of California. 'We have states calling us to actually compete for the manufacturing,' Wilbur said. 'They are offering us tens of millions of dollars to come into their state. It is hard to turn them down.' Wilbur said Aptera is likely to end up in a factory east of the Mississippi River .... Wilbur had previously said that Aptera would eventually employ 2,500 people. He also said 10,000 jobs would be created indirectly for component suppliers, retailers and other companies involved with Aptera.
Source: North County Times story, May 17, 2011, "Manufacturing: Aptera to move headquarters to Carlsbad, place car factory out of state."
Type of Event: (CD-OSG)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #122
B & H Flowers
Out-of-State Location: Dispersed
California Community HQ or Facility: Carpinteria
California County: Santa Barbara
Information: The Wall Street Journal reported that the 140-worker company, which ships flowers to florists and grocery stores, "is in the process of closing its only remote nursery operation located about three hours north of its headquarters outside Santa Barbara, Calif., while it scales back to focus on only its most-profitable blooms .... the company plans to keep operating, despite the bank’s pressure to liquidate."
Source: Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2011 story, "California Grower to Trim Operations in Chapter 11."
Additional Information: As of June 7, there is no published WARN Notice that B & H will furlough any employees, an indication of why it's sometimes misleading to rely only upon WARN Notices to anticipate facility closings.
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. Co. Disinvestment Event #121
Bayer HealthCare
Out-of-State Location: Germany
California Community Facility: Emeryville
California County: Alameda
Information: The Contra Costa Times reported that Bayer HealthCare "will wind down its multiple sclerosis drug production in Emeryville, resulting in the loss of about 540 jobs starting next year and the vacating of more than 300,000 square feet of office space. The move will result in the company's multiple sclerosis drug, Betaseron, being moved to Germany. It eventually will be produced entirely under contract by pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim, which currently makes the drug for overseas use. Bayer HealthCare's sales of the drug topped $1.6 billion last year .... 'I'm not surprised at all, because at the end of the day, it's about being as efficient as possible for these companies,' said John McCamant, editor of the Medical Technology Stockletter in Berkeley. 'We see moves like this all the time as companies try to stay competitive.' ... Bayer is Emeryville's third-largest employer. Based on 2010 employment, Pixar is first with 1,200 employees; Novartis is second with 797."
Source: Contra Costa Times May 26, 2011 story, "Bayer to cut 540 jobs in Emeryville."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #120
Biogen Idec
Out-of-State Location: North Carolina
California Community Facility: San Diego
California County: San Diego
Information: According to a WARN notice filed with the state, the company has closed its facility and furloughed 327 workers beginning on Jan. 10 and ending on March 31, 2011. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Cambridge, Mass-based Biogen merged with Idec Pharmaceuticals in 2003, but now, "just seven years after closing the $6.8 billion deal," Biogen said it would plans to "shut down its San Diego research and corporate campus, which focused on cancer drug development, and lay off most of its San Diego employees."
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 4, 2010 story, "‘It’s Happened Before:’ Biz Leaders React to Biogen Idec’s San Diego Shutdown."
More Information: It appears that some of the work is being transferred to North Carolina. The Raleigh News & Observer reported that Biogen Idec is expanding its Research Triangle Park campus and will build a 180,000-square-foot building, adding: "It will include a five-story administrative office wing and amenities such as a cafeteria, an auditorium and conference rooms. The new space will give Biogen 's nearly 850 existing employees more room, allow the company to leave some leased offices and could lead to additional hiring. 'We're confident we will see job growth in RTP,' although it's too soon to provide specific numbers,'" said a company spokesman. "Biogen is just one of several drug companies that are expanding in this area, creating jobs and attracting attention to the Triangle as a hotspot for pharmaceutical research and manufacturing."
Source: Raleigh News & Observer, April 26, 2011 story (available through NewsBank; subscription required).
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #119
Blues Review
Out-of-State Location: Bradenton, Florida
California Community HQ or Facility: Nipomo
California County: San Luis Obispo
Information: The Bradenton Herald reported that "Blues Revue, one of the music genre’s most-read magazines, is moving its headquarters from California to the Village of the Arts [and] the managers plan far more than an office -- the site will also function as a gallery and a live music venue. 'The key reason we came here is the blues scene in Florida is so vibrant,'" said a company spokesman. "Blues Revue sponsors numerous festivals nationwide, including the annual Tampa Bay Blues Festival, dating back to when it launched in 1995 .... The magazine will continue to be printed by Dartmouth Printing Company in New Hampshire .... Blues Revue will have an open house Aug. 5 that will feature live music outside. Concerts will then continue to be held there during the ArtWalks that take place the first weekend of every month on Friday evenings and Saturdays." The publication has subscribers in 55 countries and is on newsstands in 21 countries.
Source: Bradenton.com story, June 11, 2011, "Famed Blues Revue magazine HQ moves to Village of the Arts."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. Disinvestment Event #118
Calisolar Inc.
Out-of-State Location: Community of Ontario, Ohio
California Community: Sunnyvale
California County: Santa Clara
Information: Calisolar Inc., a "green" company, is making a $750 million investment in Ontario, Ohio (an event that sometimes becomes confusing in news reports because the company also has a plant in the province of Ontario, Canada). Construction is expected to begin by October at a former General Motors plant. The Bucyrus Telegraph Forum reported that the company "would create 831 full-time positions at an average wage of $45,000, generating $37.3 million in annual payroll" with priority given to hiring local workers. Also, "About 1,000 construction jobs will be needed to ready the former GM plant" that will "marry an industrial process into a green energy solar sector .... Materials coming out of the Ontario facility could be used in Sunnyvale, Calif., by other solar industry companies .... with a spokesperson saying, 'We have major, major global customers lining up to enter into purchase arrangements for this material. This is not an Ohio company. This is not a United States company. This is a global company. This material will be shipped and consumed all over the world. Obviously, some of it will be consumed in the United States, but a sizable percentage -- if not the majority (of the raw materials) -- will be exported.' .... The site selection was an international effort, narrowed to 10 sites overseas and in the United States."
Source: Bucyrus Telegraph Forum April 6, 2011 story "Calisolar in final stages of talks for Ontario site."
Additional Information: The Mansfield News-Journal on June 14, 2011 reported that a final agreement could be reached in the next week or two.
Source: "8-minute meeting brings Calisolar miles closer to Ontario."
More Information: Calisolar has received a $275 million conditional loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy to help build its solar products manufacturing facility in Ontario, Ohio.
Source: Mansfield News Journal, June 16, 2011 story, "Calisolar gets $275M loan guarantee, with strings."
UPDATE: News broke on July 1, 2010 that Calisolar will not build its plant in Ontario, Ohio. The subheadline summarizes the situation: "President: Company can't meet construction deadline for loan at former GM plant."
Source: "Calisolar says it's not coming to Ontario."
(Waiting for further developments prior to determining what to do with this entry.)
Type of Event: (CD-OSG)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #117
CGI Federal Inc.
Out-of-State Location: Dispersed
California Community Facility: Laguna Niguel
California County: Orange
Information: A notice to the state indicated that the company closed the facility, ending 170 jobs on April 15, 2011. It doesn't appear that other information about the closure can be found online.
Source: WARN Notice. (pdf)
Additional Information: The company's "U.S. Office" listing fails to show a facility in Laguna Niguel.
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #116
Chesapeake Bay Candle
Out-of-State Location: Glen Burnie, Maryland
California Community HQ or Facility: Unknown
California County: Unknown
Information: The Washington Business Journal reported that the company, in experiencing manufacturing difficulties in China and Vietnam, began searching for sites in California but "chose Maryland because of its closeness to her home base, sales team and the Port of Baltimore. The plant’s eventual move to the U.S. will also help expand the company’s business selling candles in boutiques in China, where American-made products, ironically, are more desired." Once in operation, the company hopes to expand beyond the factory’s initial 80 to 100 workers.
Source: Washington Business Journal story, Dec. 3, 2010, "Chesapeake Bay Candle's opening delayed by numerous snags."
More Information: The company's "Our Story" web page states that the Maryland grand opening ceremony is planned for June 28, 2011.
Type of Event: (U-TURN)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #115
Consolidated Container Company
Out-of-State Location: Dispersed
California Community Facility: Santa Fe Springs
California County: Los Angeles
Information: According to a notice filed with the state, the company furloughed 77 people on May 23, 2011 and listed the event as a "closure."
Source: WARN Notice (pdf).
Additional Information: Consolidated Container Company (CCC) announced in January that it was acquiring all of the blow molding assets of West Coast Plastics Inc. in Santa Fe Springs, stating, that West Coast Plastics "will continue to operate its injection-molding business." CCC operates 62 manufacturing facilities nationally, an R&D center in Atlanta and two manufacturing plants in Mexico.
Source: Company news release, Jan. 25, 2011, "CCC to Acquire Blow Molding Assets of West Coast Plastics." (pdf)
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #114
Convoke Systems
Out-of-State Location: Arlington, Virginia
California Community HQ: San Francisco
California County: San Francisco
Information: The company relocated its corporate HQ to Northern Virginia effective May 1 while maintaining an office in San Francisco for engineering and product personnel. Convoke Systems provides media (document) mobility and chain of title tracking solutions for the financial services and accounts receivable management (ARM) industries.
Source: Company news release, May 2, 2011, "Convoke Systems Announces Corporate Headquarters Move and Additional Office (pdf)."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #113
Design Within Reach
Out-of-State Location: Stamford, Connecticut
California Community HQ: San Francisco
California County: San Francisco
Information: Design Within Reach made a cross-continental move of its corporate headquarters.
Source: The Commercial Observer, May 10, 2011 story, "Stirrings in the Burbs: Beyond City Limits, Green Shoots Here and There."
More Information: The home-furnishing company moved into a 28,000 square feet facility at an estimated cost of about $5 million, which is "housing about 60 office and staff employees [in] Stamford , and it plans to add 15 to 20 more jobs in the next few months .... 'We are strong believers in adaptive re-use of older buildings,' said [COO John McPhee]. 'Our first studio in San Francisco is housed in a former liquor warehouse that was one of the few buildings to survive the 1906 earthquake and fire .... We believe that there is a true renaissance beginning in the south end of Stamford .'"
Source: Connecticut Post, Dec. 21, 2010 story, "JCS Construction to direct remodel." (Story accessible through NewsBank; subscription required.)
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #112
Diageo
Out-of-State Location: Dispersed
California Community HQ or Facility: Menlo Park
California County: San Mateo
Information: The Palo Also Daily News reported that "More than 150 people will lose their jobs next month when a large alcohol bottling facility that has operated in Menlo Park for more than 50 years shuts its doors. Diageo, a major United Kingdom-based alcohol producer that sells well-known brands such as Guinness, Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan, plans to close the facility ... on July 31 .... [the company] decided to close the Menlo Park facility "as part of a recent strategic review" of company operations" The facility was opened by the now-defunct Heublein Inc. company in the mid-1950s.
Source: MercuryNews.com story, June 11, 2011, "Menlo Park alcohol bottling plant to shut down next month."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #111
Fallbrook Technologies Inc.
Out-of-State Location: Cedar Park, Texas
California HQ: San Diego
California County: San Diego
Information: The Austin American-Statesman reports that Fallbrook Technologies Inc., a company offering "green" technology improvements, which "has run its operations division from Cedar Park since 2002 , would agree to spend $5.5 million on a larger corporate operations center that would add at least 65 jobs by 2013 .... The company would use it for light manufacturing, engineering development and testing .... Fallbrook currently employs 60 people in Cedar Park .... the company will agree to maintain a combined payroll of $9.5 million by 2019 .... the company has two facilities in Cedar Park, one housing a test lab and a second for design engineers, both of which it has outgrown. "They're both extremely crowded," said a company spokesman. "We're hiring people every month and we're wondering where we're going to put them."
Source: Austin American-Statesman, May 25, 2011 story, "Cedar Park to weigh $1.68 million incentive package for Fallbrook Technologies."
Type of Event: (CD-OSG)
***
Calif. Co. Disinvestment Event #110
Fisher Investments
Out-of-State Location: Camas, Washington
California Community HQ: Woodside
California County: San Mateo
Information: Fisher Investments is building a 120-acre campus in a community near the Columbia River. CEO Ken Fisher has said earlier that that "he's looking to move his corporate headquarters into a friendlier business climate than Woodside, Calif., where the company is currently based."
Source: OregonLive.com June 7, 2011 story, "Ken Fisher: Clark County should bang on corporate doors in California, focus on 'knowledge workers'."
More Information: The Columbian said that "The $30 million campus could become Fisher’s new corporate headquarters" and that it's a "$43 billion advisory asset management firm."
Source: The Columbian, May 25, 2001 story, "Fisher offers fix for local economic woes."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR) and (CD-OSG)
***
Calif. Co. Disinvestment Event #109
Garda World Security Corp.
Out-of-State Location: Boca Raton, Florida
California Community HQ: Pasadena
California County: Los Angeles
Information: Tallahassee's Sunshine News reported that Garda is moving its U.S. headquarters to Florida, generating 100 jobs in the state "with an average annual wage of more than $65,000 .... Stéphan Crétier, Garda's president and CEO, said he was 'excited to move our U.S. headquarters to Boca Raton, which will provide us the ability to expand in the United States.' ... Cretier said he was 'impressed with the vibrant business climate Florida is seeking to create' .... Garda reportedly was considering a move to Illinois or Delaware .... Those states, as well as California, have significantly higher corporate tax rates than Florida."
Source: Sunshine State News, June 8, 2011 story, "Canadian Security Firm Bringing 100 Jobs to Florida."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #108
Graham Packaging Company
Out-of-State Location: Dispersed
California Community HQ or Facility: Richmond
California County: Contra Costa
Information: A notice published by the state listed the company's facility in Richmond as a closure that will affect 31 employees on Sept. 1, 2011.
Source: WARN Notice pdf.
More Information: BuildCentral.com reports that Graham Packaging is closing their Richmond plant (the report's details are unknown because it's accessible only through subscription).
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #107
InsuranceLeads.com
Out-of-State Location: Austin, Texas
California Community: North Hollywood
California County: Los Angeles
Information: A notice published by the state listed the company's facility in North Hollywood as a closure that will affect 85 employees on June 30, 2011.
Source: WARN Notice pdf.
Additional Information: The Austin Business Journal reported that the company was purchased by All Web Leads Inc., a "deal that created a combined $100 million-a-year company with the industry’s No. 2 market share .... The deal also means new jobs for Austin down the road. All Web Leads employs about 40 here already. InsuranceLeads.com employs about 100 in California. But All Web Leads will eventually consolidate all of its workers into a single Austin operation to make it easier to manage, [CEO Bill] Daniel said.
Source: Austin Business Journal, Feb. 18, 2001 story, "All Web Leads eyes fast growth."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #106
Intel
Out-of-State Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
California Community HQ: Santa Clara
California County: Santa Clara
Information: The chip maker is building a $3 billion research facility and factory that is one of the biggest construction projects in Oregon's history. OregonLive.com reported, "Intel's new factory, D1X, is single-handedly boosting the regional economy by reviving Oregon's moribund construction industry" and provides statistics to demonstrate that point: Up to 200,000 cubic yards of concrete; excavation of up to 1 million cubic yards of dirt; use of 45,000 tons of steel and rebar; all of which will utilize 6,000 to 8,000 construction workers over a two-year period. And when it opens in 2013, the factory, or fab in the industry's lingo, will incubate the semiconductor industry's most advanced technology for at least a decade .... Intel builds factories the same way it builds its chips: 'Design it, design it once and then just copy,' says Ravi Sharma Intel's director of global construction. And with Intel's factories, much like its microprocessors, the work always starts in Hillsboro. In a finely honed process called 'copy exactly,' Intel's Oregon researchers perfect each new generation of microprocessor at the company's existing research factory, an 8-year-old fab called D1D. Factories in Arizona, New Mexico, Israel, Ireland and China then duplicate what the Hillsboro engineers created, right down to the air inside the fab, to prevent production mistakes and ensure that every chip performs just like every other. 'D1X is quite unique,' Sharma said, 'from the perspective that we are setting a design for the future fabs at Intel.' ... Work on D1X started in February, and it's already showing up in Portland jobs data. The construction industry, clobbered by the collapse of the housing market during the recession, added 1,000 jobs in the Portland area last month. Those workers will haul away up to a million yards of dirt [and], of that, 150,000 cubic yards are headed just up the road, to SolarWorld's Hillsboro property. That company is contemplating a second factory someday and needs to elevate its property to ensure proper drainage."
Source: OregonLive.com May 28, 2011 story, "Intel goes big to get small -- an early look at its new Hillsboro research factory, D1X."
Type of Event: (CD-OSG)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #105
InteSolv
Out-of-State Location: Austin, Texas
California Community HQ or Facility: Visalia
California County: Tulare
Information: the Austin American-Statesman reports that the software company will open a regional office in that Texas city while keeping its headquarters in Visalia. "The Austin office will focus on software development and technical support for the company, which works with a number of Adobe products. It wasn't clear how many people will work in the new office, but InteSolv is currently looking for .Net developers and content developers in Austin. 'We are thrilled to be here,' said InteSolv senior vice president of business development Frank Rogers. 'To sustain our growth, it was imperative to find a second place for InteSolv to call home and Austin fits us to a 'T.'"
Source: Austin American Statesman story, May 9, 2011, "2 more California companies join migration to Austin."
Type of Event: (CD-OSG)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #104
John B. Sanfilippo & Son. Inc.
Out-of-State Location: In part to Elgin, Illinois
California Community: Modesto
California County: Stanislaus
Information: A notice published by the state listed the company's facility as a closure that affected 19 employees on Jan. 14, 2011.
Source: WARN Notice (pdf).
Additional Information: Vendingmarketwatch.com reported that the company's operating costs fiscal 2011 third quarter gross profit was reduced by $0.7 million for the relocation of the Orchard Valley Harvest facility in Modesto to the Gustine, Calif. and Elgin, Ill. facilities. Source: "John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. Reports Decline In Third Quarter Net."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #103
Kairak
Out-of-State Location: Fort Worth, Texas
California Community Facility: Fullerton
California County: Orange
Information: The Orange County Register reported that "Kairak, which manufactures refrigeration systems, is closing its Fullerton plant and moving the work to Texas. Between August and December, 58 people will be laid off, the company said .... Kairak has been in business 45 years ... supplying no-frost commercial refrigeration units to such restaurants as Chili’s, The Cheesecake Factory, BJ’s Restaurant Brewery, Jack in the Box, and El Pollo Loco; and other locations such as Costco delicatessens, Hilton Hotels and Disney theme parks .... It is a division of Illinois Tool Works [ITW], a $15.9 billion diversified industrial manufacturer with 60,000 employees worldwide."
Source: Orange County Register story, June 7, 2011, "O.C. manufacturer to close, move to Texas."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE) and (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #102
Kiva Systems Inc.
Out-of-State Location: North Reading, Massachusetts
California Community HQ or Facility: Unknown
California County: Unknown
Information: The Boston Business Journal reports that Kiva Systems Inc. could have manufactured its mobile robots used in e-commerce order fulfillment "in California, where the company was founded .... But the company chose to locate in Massachusetts, and this month completed a major expansion to allow for more production."
Source: Boston Business Journal, May 27, 2011 story, "A manufacturing revival: For some high-tech companies, making products in Massachusetts is making more sense."
More Information: The company reported that it opened it's "new world headquarters on May 24 in North Reading, Massachusetts. Gov. Deval Patrick said, “Kiva is a great story for this region to tell, having relocated its company from Silicon Valley to Massachusetts where they are now manufacturing global exports, and making the Commonwealth internationally competitive in the robotics market.” Note: The company was founded as Distrobot Systems, Inc.
Source: Company news release, May 24, 2011, "Kiva Systems Shows Significant Growth in Massachusetts, Opens New World Headquarters."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #101
LeMaitre Vascular Inc.
Out-of-State Location: Burlington, Massachusetts
California Community Facility: Laguna Hills
California County: Orange
Information: The company's board has approved closing its manufacturing facility in Laguna Hills and the transfer of related production to Burlington. LeMaitre acquired the factory when it acquired LifeSpan Vascular Graft in November, 2010. The closure is anticipated to occur in Q2 and Q3 2011 and is expected to save $400,000 annually by consolidating all manufacturing under one roof in Massachusetts.
Source: Company news release, May 20, 2011, "LeMaitre to Consolidate California Factory; Also Exiting TAArget/Unifit Business."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE) and (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #100
Lonely Planet
Out-of-State Location: London, England
California Community HQ or Facility: Oakland
California County: Alameda
Information: A tipster said that Lonely Planet was moving jobs out of Oakland to England. Argophilia.com in a brief story confirmed that "a good portion of its web staff has been given pink slips. The majority of Lonely Planet’s web team is moving to London, while 17 percent will be looking for new jobs."
Source: Argophilia.com story, May 13, 2011, "Lonely Planet Lays Off Chunk of Online Staff."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #99
Main Street Hub Inc.
Out-of-State Location: Austin, Texas
California Community HQ or Facility: San Francisco
California County: San Francisco
Information: The Austin American-Statesman reports that the company "that specializes in helping businesses manage their image on social media sites is moving to Central Texas. Main Street Hub plans to relocate its headquarters to downtown Austin in June, according to CEO Andrew Allison .... 'We realized as we grew, the cost of doing business in San Francisco would grow, as well,' Allison said. 'Austin really fits our needs on every level.' The company has 12 employees right now" and by year's end, should be up to 50 workers with plans to grow beyond that. "Allison said Main Street Hub looked at a number of cities before settling on Austin because of the city's highly educated workforce, relatively low cost of living and growing tech scene. 'Austin's a destination for people around the country," he said, "and creative people are looking to move there.'
Source: Austin American-Statesman May 6, 2011 story, "Central Texas Digest: Firm that specializes in social media moving headquarters to downtown Austin."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #98
McConnell Cabinets
Out-of-State Location: Dispersed
California Community: City of Industry
California County: Los Angeles
Information: A notice published by the state listed the company's facility as a closure that affected 82 employees on April 1, 2011.
Source: WARN Notice (pdf).
Other Information: Loeb, the Chicago-based auction house, is holding an onsite and online auction "of One of the Largest U.S. Independent Kitchen & Bath Cabinet Manufacturers, Featuring Late Model Woodworking & Finishing Equipment - Over 100 Unit Vehicle Fleet and Rolling Stock!" on June 28-29, 2011.
Source: loebequipment.com announcement, "McConnell Cabinets, Inc. Auction - Onsite & Online."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #97
Medtronic Diabetes
Out-of-State Location: San Antonio, Texas
California Community Facility: Los Angeles (Northridge)
California County: Los Angeles
Information: The Los Angeles Daily News reported that the company is laying off more than 400 workers in Los Angeles as it shifts its customer service operation to Texas, stating: "A total of 464 positions will be eliminated by October 30, including about 300 customer service jobs being transferred to San Antonio, spokeswoman Amanda Sheldon said. Those call-center employees were offered the chance to relocate [and other employees will remain at the San Fernando Valley site]. "An analysis by the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation said the Medtronic facility will generate more than $750 million annually in economic benefits. Foundation President Mario Hernandez said his city attracted Medtronic through its business-friendly, low-cost reputation. 'They are going to save 30 to 40 percent on all cost factors versus Los Angeles,' he said. 'And (workers) can live very comfortably very near the facility.' San Fernando Valley economic development officials said this is another tough blow for the Valley's middle class."
Source: June 15, 2001 story, "Medtronic Diabetes laying off more than 400 at Northridge site."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #96
Nokia
Out-of-State Location: Unknown
California Community Facility: San Diego
California County: San Diego
Information: Westfair Online reported that "Officials at Nokia headquarters in Espoo, Finland, said approximately 500 jobs will be eliminated in the U.S. as the company reduces its research and development activities at its Nokia Inc. offices in San Diego, Calif., and [in Harrison, NJ]." No further details are known at this time.
Source: Westfair Online May 6, 2011 story, "Global Westchester: one leaving, one stays."
Type of Event: Unable to classify without further information.
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #95
Oceanside Pole Tomato Sales Inc.
Out-of-State Locations: Dispersed
California Community HQ or Facility: Oceanside
California County: San Diego
Information: The Packer reports that Oceanside Pole Tomato Sales Inc. and its tomato-growing operation, Harry Singh & Sons, Oceanside, closed, stating, "Oceanside Pole shipped about 4.5 million cartons annually .... It will take awhile for other growers to fill the void with new plantings .... water issues, labor availability and transportation costs in Central California could make increasing acreage a challenge .... The company cited costs of labor and water, competition from Mexico, California’s regulatory climate and the fact that it had lost its lease on about 350 acres of land from the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton as reasons for its closure. Although the company said ... that it would not be in operation for the 2011 season, [it] indicated that it would 'work diligently and explore all options in our efforts to reorganize and resume farming operations for 2012.' The closure will cost 85 year-round employees their jobs. The company, a fixture in the region for more than 70 years, shipped under the Oceanside Pole and Cal-Tom labels."
Source: The Packer, May 20, 2011 story, "Shippers react to closure of Oceanside Pole Tomato."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #94
PETCO Animal Supplies Stores, Inc.
Out-of-State Location: San Antonio, Texas
California Community: San Diego
California County: San Diego
Information: The San Antonio Express reported that the company "will expand its headquarters to San Antonio next year, adding about 400 corporate jobs within three years, the company announced .... Petco will open its Satellite Support Center with about 100 employees, including several top executives, in June [2011] .... Between 40 and 80 employees are expected to move to San Antonio from the company's National Support Center in San Diego. As Petco's employment grows in San Antonio, the rest will be hired locally, starting next year. The jobs will pay an average of about $57,700 a year. Ten percent of the jobs will pay $80,000 or more .... [The] office will carry out the financial aspects of the company's operations, including accounting, human resources, administrative services, ethics/compliance and risk management .... Petco started its site-selection process in January with a list 37 possible expansion sites around the country, including the San Diego area, after the company reached capacity at its headquarters building in that city .... Petco CEO Jim Myers said in a prepared statement that 'after an extensive search for the right place to support our growth, we chose San Antonio, and we're thrilled to further expand our local presence with a Satellite Support Center, our first office location outside of San Diego' .... The 45-year-old company ... operates 1,050 pet supply and service stores in the United States, 79 of them in Texas and six of those in San Antonio .... Petco said it will spend $5 million to outfit its San Antonio building .... The company's site-selection team graded cities on four main factors, including availability of corporate talent, the friendliness of the business and civic communities, operating costs and quality of life."
Source: San Antonio Express story, Nov. 22, 2010, "Petco plans to add 400 jobs in S.A."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #93
R.R. Donnelly & Sons
Out-of-State Location: Unknown
California Community Facility: Fremont
California County: Alameda
Information: The company will close its Fremont distribution and manufacturing center.
Source: Oakland Tribune, June 8, 2011 story, "R.R. Donnelly and Total Immersion Software will cut a combined 108 East Bay jobs."
More Information: According to a notice filed with the state, 56 employees will be furloughed July 29.
Source: WARN Notice (pdf).
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #92
RockTenn (formerly Smurfit-Stone)
Out-of-State Location: Unknown
California Community Facility: Santa Fe Springs
California County: Los Angeles
Information: The company announced that it will close the former Smurfit-Stone corrugated container plant in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011, and said the action is a first step in realigning the box plant system of RockTenn following the acquisition of Smurfit-Stone. After the merger was approved on May 27, RockTenn said, "We plan to take many actions in the next year to maximize the efficiency of our manufacturing processes as well as to reduce costs and eliminate redundancies throughout our operations as we move forward to achieve the operating synergy that we anticipate from the Smurfit-Stone acquisition." The Company operates locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and China. For more information, visit the company's site.
Source: Company news release, June 2, 2011, "RockTenn Announces Closures of Three Corrugated Container Plants."
Type of Event: (CLOSED)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #91
Sharp -- Solar Energy Solutions Group
Out-of-State Location: Camas, Washington
California Community Facility: Huntington Beach
California County: Orange
Information: According to The Columbian, this "green" group will relocate from Sharp’s western regional office in Huntington Beach to its campus in Washington State, adding, "Sharp was not recruited by local economic development officials to make the move .... Sharp Corp. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of solar cells and has been mass producing solar cells since 1963. It produces solar cells at two factories in Japan, and uses the cells to manufacture solar modules in five factories around the world, including one in Tennessee. Its website says the company created the world’s first solar-powered calculator and that its products power more homes and businesses than any other manufacturer."
Source: The Columbian, June 10, 2011 story, "Sharp Solar to move to Camas."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #90
Shine International
Out-of-State Location: London, England
California Community HQ or Facility: Los Angeles
California County: Los Angeles
Information: A growing international sales and distribution arm for the company is moving its HQ England. The Los Angeles Times reports that "Shine International, which sells such successful television formats as 'MasterChef' and 'The Biggest Loser,' will keep a small presence in L.A. .... In addition to the London headquarters, Shine International will have offices in France, Germany, Australia and the Nordic region."
Source: Los Angeles Times May 10, 2011 story, "Elisabeth Murdoch's Shine International moves headquarters to London from L.A."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #89
Southwire Company
Out-of-State Location: Unknown
California Community: Long Beach
California County: Los Angeles
Information: A notice filed with the state says that a closure is underway and that jobs 63 jobs have been or will be eliminated in phases starting on April 29 and ending on Dec. 30, 2011. No other information appears online and efforts to learn more haven't produced any information.
Source: WARN Notice (pdf).
Type of Event: (CLOSURE)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #88
Star Trac (Part I)
Out-of-State Location: China and Vancouver, Washington
California Community Facility: Murrieta
California County: Riverside
Information: Club Industry reports that "In a continuing effort to shift more production to its plant in China, Star Trac is shutting down its factory in California, resulting in close to 50 layoffs .... Production was scheduled to stop May 31, but new Star Trac President Dustin Grosz says that deadline may get extended by a few more weeks. A total of 48 employees currently work at the Murrieta factory, which had produced Flex Fitness products. In addition to those jobs that will be eliminated, Star Trac laid off about 25 employees from its corporate headquarters last month [and some departments] are being consolidated with the StairMaster offices in Vancouver, Wash .... Bruno has been in China for about a month overseeing the company’s production in its Xiamen, China, plant. Bruno ... said in March that he hoped 75 percent of the company’s production would be shifted to China by June and 90 percent would be shifted to China by the end of the summer." The company will keep its showroom and some functions in Irvine, where it has it's HQ, as it proceeds through a "turnaround phase."
Source: Club Industry May 15, 2011 story, "Star Trac Shutting Down California Plant as More Production Moves to China."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR) and (CD-OSG)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #87
Star Trac (Part II)
Out-of-State Location: Vancouver, Washington
California Community HQ: Irvine
California County: Orange
Information: The Portlander reported that Star Trac, a "leader in developing advanced commercial equipment for the fitness industry and ... StairMaster, will be consolidating a number of operational functions to StairMaster’s headquarters in Vancouver, Washington. 'This will allow us to streamline our business process to be more efficient and effective for our customers,' stated Dustin Grosz, President of Star Trac and StairMaster. While the company’s fitness equipment will continue to be manufactured in China, StairMaster picked Vancouver over Irvine for the location of its new 26,000 square foot corporate headquarters. The new offices ... will house the company’s executive, administrative, and customer service functions." Grosz added: “The Portland-Vancouver metro is the nation’s hub for outdoor and fitness equipment enthusiasts which allows us to have access to the type of workforce we want to grow and shape our company.”
Source: The Portlander, May 25, 2011 story, "100 New Jobs Headed to Vancouver."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #86
Total Immersion Software
Out-of-State Location: Austin, Texas
California Community Facility: Alameda
California County: Alameda
Information: The Oakland Tribune reported that Total Immersion Software, a maker of virtual reality software simulations, will eliminate 52 jobs when it shuts its digital studio and transfers work to Texas.
Source: Oakland Tribune, June 8, 2011 story, "R.R. Donnelly and Total Immersion Software will cut a combined 108 East Bay jobs."
The Alameda County Workforce Board listed the Alameda facility as a closure affecting 52 workers on July 1, 2011.
Source: "Layoffs and Closures" as published on May 29, 2011.
Additional Information: The company's website here says the "The Alameda Studio is closing. But, we have many exciting job openings in our Austin, TX, studio" and the "Austin Studio is Hiring."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE) and (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #85
United Launch Alliance
Out-of-State Location: Unknown
California Community HQ or Facility: San Diego
California County: San Diego
Information: The company, a joint venture by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, has listed its facility on Pacific Highway as a "closure" in three WARN notices filed with the state, showing a total of 18 jobs ending starting on Jan. 6 and ending on July 15, 2011.
Source: WARN notice (pdf) as found online on May 28, 2011.
Additional Information: Back in 2006 the company relocated employees mainly from California to Denver, Colorado, and Decatur, Alabama. That's according to NASA Spaceflight.com's Nov. 30, 2006 story, "United Launch Alliance – open for business."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE) and (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #84
Valley Towing Products (also known as RPM Towing)
Out-of-State Location: Mexico and Dallas, Texas
California Community: Lodi
California County: San Joaquin
Information: A notice filed with the state says that a closure occurred June 15, 2011 that eliminated 64 jobs.
Source: WARN Notice (pdf). (Listed as RPM)
More Information: Valley Towing Products announced that it's adding two facilities to its North American supply chain -- a new warehouse in Dallas, Texas and a new manufacturing facility in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Owner Revstone Industries, LLC is HQ'd in Lexington, Kentucky, with regional offices in Michigan, New York, and China. Revstone operates manufacturing facilities in more than 60 locations throughout North and Central America with plans to expand in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
Source: Revstone Industries, LLC news release, Nov. 29, 2010, "Valley Towing Products Adds Two New Facilities in North America."
More Information: The Lodi News-Sentinel reported that "A distribution center near the Lodi plant will remain open .... Valley Towing Products, originally known as Valley Industries, has manufactured trailer hitches, electrical trailering products and towing accessories since 1947."
Source: Lodi News-Sentinel, Dec. 3, 2010 story, "Valley Towing Products to shut down Lodi plant in May."
Type of Event: (CLOSURE) and (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #83
VXI Global Solutions
Out-of-State Location: Canton, Ohio
California Community HQ: Los Angeles
California County: Los Angeles
Information: The Canton Repository reported that VXI Global Solutions is expected to open a call center in the city, stating, “'I’m proud to announce that an agreement has been reached between VXI Global Solutions and Canton Centre to bring 1,000 new jobs to the city of Canton,' Mayor William J. Healy II said .... The project is expected to create about 1,000 jobs within three years .... Services include account management, retention calls and client support in more than 20 languages. Positions will include outbound and inbound sales agents, supervisors, operations managers, human resource managers, trainers and recruiters, Healy said .... VXI Global Solutions has begun the hiring process .... VXI Global Solutions has 10 call centers, including locations in Youngstown, California, Texas, the Philippines and China .... Healy noted construction already is under way at the Canton Centre shopping complex [for] Global Solutions."
Source: Canton Repository, June 7, 2011 story, "Canton lands 1,000-job call center."
Update: CantonRep.com has confirmed the VXI move in a July 13, 2011 story, "New location for planned call center in Canton."
Type of Event: (CD-OSG)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #82
Wells Fargo
Out-of-State Location: Dispersed
California Community HQ or Facility: Concord
California County: Contra Costa
Information: Wells Fargo Mortgage Operations notified the state that it furloughed 134 people on Feb. 11, 2011, listing the event as a "closure."
Source: Information: WARN Notice (pdf).
More Information: The San Francisco Business Times reported earlier that "The Concord facility focused on processing loans for third-party mortgage brokers. Wells said it remains committed to serving the mortgage broker channel. Wells is seeking to boost efficiency by moving the Concord work to a larger operation in the Southern California city of Irvine. 'The changes we’re making allow us to operate in the most economical and efficient manner possible, while still serving our broker clients,' said a company spokesperson.
Source: San Francisco Business Times, Dec. 13, 2010 story, "Wells closes Concord center, cutting 137 jobs."
More Information: Related to the above comment is the fact that Wells Fargo in another WARN Notice (pdf) said that jobs would be cut in Irvine effective April 9 and May 22, 2011; it's either 53 jobs in each case for a total of 106 or a duplicate entry for 53 jobs.
More Information: This blog previously linked to an Orange County Register story about Wells Fargo cutting 59 jobs and moving some Irvine work to India. See the March 25, 2011 story, "Wells Fargo shifts O.C. work to India."
More Information: The Orange County Register reported earlier this year that Well Fargo cut 145 jobs, mostly in Irvine and some possibly in nearby Costa Mesa.
Source: Orange County Register, Jan. 31, 2011 story, "Wells Fargo to cut 145 mortgage jobs in O.C."
Observation: With a deemphasis in California job placements with work migrating out of state, including out of Irvine, the Concord event rates a listing here as a California loss.
Type of Event: (CLOSURE) and (RELO-OSR)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #81
WindStream Technologies, Inc.
Out-of-State Location: New Albany, Indiana
California Community HQ: Manhattan Beach
California County: Los Angeles
Information: The New Albany News and Tribune reported that the City Council is considering ways to back a loan for WindStream Technologies, a "green" company, to expand a facility that moved from California. WindStream is requesting the city back an economic development bond worth up to $3.7 million with tax-increment financing to expand and allow the company to begin mass production of its wind turbines. "Dan Bates, president and CEO of WindStream, said the company has international and domestic orders to fill and needs the council to approve the bond so 'we can get into the manufacturing phase of this product.' .... WindStream began in 2009, and was featured in March in Helsinki, Finland as part of the U.S. State Department’s League of Green Embassies conference. The company created small wind turbines designed for residential energy use, and Bates said WindStream is on pace to produce more than 40,000 units in three years .... New Albany could benefit from the 105 new positions WindStream plans to add .... A California native, Bates said several states vied for WindStream when the company launched.
Source: New Albany News and Tribune, June 6, 2011 story, "Vote on Windstream loan likely to be tabled by New Albany council."
Additional Information: The New Albany News and Tribune reported earlier WindStream Technologies, Inc. will develop a multi-million dollar investment production facility in the New Albany and Purdue Research Park of Southern Indiana ... by 2012. "The company — currently located in California — manufacturers wind turbines called TurboMills."
Source: New Albany News and Tribune, Nov. 23, 2009 story, "WindStream Technologies bringing 260 jobs to Purdue Research Park in New Albany by 2012"
More Information: Earlier news releases said the company was based in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR) and (CD-OSG)
***
Calif. 2011 Disinvestment Event #80
Xeris Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Out-of-State Location: Austin, Texas
California Community HQ or Facility: Larkspur
California County: Marin
Information: the Austin American-Statesman reports that the company will move its HQ to the Texas city. "Chief operating officer Yash Sabharwal said the company's CEO was drawn to Austin's entrepreneurial culture and its resources in the life sciences and biotech fields. 'And from a business perspective, (Texas) is the business-friendliest state in the country,' he said."
Source: Austin American Statesman story, May 9, 2011, "2 more California companies join migration to Austin."
Type of Event: (RELO-OSR)
FOR EARLIER 2011 LISTINGS: California Disinvestment Events #79 through #1 are listed in prior blog entries over several months back to and including January.
***
What the Event Codes Mean:
(CANCELLED) Construction of a facility cancelled due to California’s costs, taxes or environmental regulations.
(CLOSURE) Full or partial. When "dispersed" appears in the Out-of-State Location line, that means work will be done in other locations owned by the company or business will shift to competitors who will perform the work out of state.
(CD-OSG) Capital Directed to Out-of-State Growth for a facility that in the past would have been built in California. Also refers to “green” company out-of-state activity that occurs despite all of the California regulations and financial inducements designed to make the state ideal for green companies.
(U-TURN) Company considered moving into California and cancelled that plan and went elsewhere.
(LNF) California lost a new facility to another state or country.
(RELO-OSR) Out-of-State Relocation.
Posted by Joseph Vranich at 5:48 PM Email This
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Monday, May 2, 2011Calif. Co. 2011 Disinvestment Event # 79:
ArthroCare Corp.
Out-of-State Location: Austin, Texas
California Community HQ or Facility: Sunnyvale
California County: Santa Clara
Information: ArthroCare Corp. will relocate its main R&D operations to its Austin HQ by the end of this year. The Austin American-Statesmen reports that "The company, which makes and markets 'minimally invasive surgical products' for spinal and other surgeries .... employs just over 100 people in Austin and contemplates doubling that number .... ArthroCare itself is a transplant, having moved its headquarters from Sunnyvale to Austin in 2004 .... In its quarterly filing, the company estimated that the cost of the latest move, including employee severance, lease termination and relocation costs, will be between $10 million and $10.5 million. The company said it employs 459 people in North America – in Austin, Sunnyvale and a third operation in Irvine, Calif., which is unaffected by the announced consolidation."
Source: Austin American-Statesman, May 2, 2011 story, "ArthroCare moving R&D operations from California to Austin."
More Information: A California WARN notice lists ArthroCare as laying off 121 employees in Sunnyvale later this year (in three entries). See "Listing of WARN Notices by Layoff Date - 2011" (pdf).
More Information: The Austin Business Journal covered the company's headquarters relocation in a June 12, 2005 story, "Medical device maker quietly lands in Austin."
Observation: Site selection experts know that when a company creates a "footprint" in new location and consistently feels welcome there – and gets a clearer view of cost differentials – that additional company operations will often gravitate to that community. Also, on a related point involving biotech companies, Silence Therapeutics announced a few days ago that it's closing its Redwood City office (it's unclear where the jobs are headed but that will end its Calif. presence) the same day HYCOR Biomedical said it's leaving Garden Grove for Indiana. Last year, Medtronic left Northridge for San Antonio and Pain Therapeutics departed San Mateo for Austin.
Type of Calif. Disinvestment Event: (RELO-OSR) Out-of-State Relocation to occur.
Posted by Joseph Vranich at 10:07 PM Email This
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Thursday, April 28, 2011Calif. Co. 2011 Disinvestment Event # 78:
Blackford Capital LLC
Out-of-State Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
California Community HQ or Facility: Irvine
California County: Orange
Information: The private equity firm, which was launched in Chicago in 2000 and relocated to Irvine, Calif., shortly after, has moved to Michigan. Mlive.com reports that "With 70 percent of the company’s investments in the Midwest or on the East Coast ... the firm wanted to be closer to its current and future operations .... A second California office remains in San Francisco. Martin Stein said while many of its competitors are based in Chicago, the firm sought to differentiate itself by locating in Grand Rapids. 'We saw Grand Rapids as a great location for recruiting talent,' he said. 'We also think Michigan has some extremely strong manufacturing opportunities and wanted to be close to future investments that we would be making' .... Blackford Capital focuses on older, profitable operations where the owner wants to grow or exit the company. Stein said they are not short-term investors. 'Our youngest company is 20 years old and our oldest is 80,' he said .... Stein serves on the boards of five of the firm’s portfolio companies, including serving as chairman of the board for Amtech Corp. and Staging Concepts." Also, Stein, a Grand Rapids native, said his hometown is "a great place to raise a family."
Source: mlive.com (Grand Rapids Press story, April 28, 2011, "Private equity firm headquarters move from California to Grand Rapids."
Type of Calif. Disinvestment Event: (RELO-OSR) Out-of-State Relocation.
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Calif. Co. 2011 Disinvestment Event # 77:
Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems
Out-of-State Locations: Dallas Texas, Forest Mississippi and an as-yet-unidentified location
California Community HQ or Facility: Goleta
California County: Santa Barbara
Information: The company will relocate part of a division's operations to Raytheon facilities in other states, moves that will affect about 114 California employees by the end of this year. According to Noozhawk, a company "email read, 'To better position SAS for growth in today’s economic and market environment, we must improve efficiency and increase competitiveness' .... various sustainment programs will be moving to the company’s Forest, Miss., site. The microelectronics center will move to the Dallas, Texas, site, and the company’s integration and test for the PAWS-2 program will relocate from Goleta 'to another facility to be determined based on business outlook.' Program offices, engineering and other functional support will remain in Goleta."
Source: Santa Barbara Noozhawk story, April 27, 2011, "Raytheon Announces Layoffs, Plans to Move Some Goleta Operations Out of State."
Type of Calif. Disinvestment Event: (RELO-OSR) Out-of-State Relocation to occur.
Observation: This event follows previous moves by other companies fully or partly in the aerospace sector, including Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Howell Precision Machine and Engineering, and Vista Metals, to name a few.
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011Calif. Co. 2011 Disinvestment Event # 76:
HYCOR Biomedical, Inc.
Out-of-State Location: Central Indiana
California Community HQ or Facility: Garden Grove
California County: Orange
Information: The company, a manufacturer of diagnostic products for clinical laboratories, will relocate its HQ from Garden Grove to Central Indiana. The state's economic development agency reported that "This is the second California company to relocate its headquarters to Indiana in the past two years. In 2009, Fleetwood RV moved from Riverside, Calif. to Decatur, Ind., creating 300 new jobs. Additional companies including Beckman Coulter have consolidated operations from California in recent years .... HYCOR is the latest example of the benefits of maintaining fiscal discipline and a low-cost business environment .... 'Given Indiana's central location, the exceptional life sciences talent based here, as well as the economic incentives being offered by the state, we believe this is the ideal time for HYCOR to relocate as our business continues to grow,' said Richard Aderman, president and CEO of HYCOR."
Source: Indiana Economic Development Corporation news release April 27, 2011, "Life Science Company Relocating California Headquarters to Indiana."
Observation: Hycor isn't a big company, but they are a growing company in the highly desirable biomedical space -- a high-value "catch" for Indiana. The company also has an office in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Type of Calif. Disinvestment Event: (RELO-OSR) Out-of-State Relocation.
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Calif. Co. 2011 Disinvestment Event # 75
Silence Therapeutics Plc (formerly Intradigm)
Out-of-State Locations: London, England and Berlin, Germany
California Community HQ or Facility: Redwood City
California County: San Mateo
Information: Silence Therapeutics Plc today indicated it will close "as soon a practicable" its Redwood City administrative office. A restructuring started after its merger with Intradigm, a biotechnology startup HQ'd in Palo Alto, but whose operations were moved to Redwood City in July 2010 after the merger. Silence Therapeutics appears to be positioned for solid growth considering the progress it's making in the field of RNA interference ('RNAi' therapeutics), the issuance of new patents to the company, and the "excellent progress" underway with clinical trials of its products.
Source: Company news release, April 27, 2011, "Silence Therapeutics Plc - Results for the Year Ended 31 December 2010."
(For an explanation of RNAi, see Wikipedia's "RNA interference.")
Type of Calif. Disinvestment Event: (RELO-OSR) Out-of-State Relocation complete or underway.
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Tuesday, April 26, 2011Calif. Disinvestment List Reaches 74 Events;
New 'Green' Facilities for OR, OH and SC
Four more companies were added today to the California disinvestment list, bringing the number of events to 74 thus far during the year. See details about # 71 DistinctDev, Inc., # 72 Be Green Packaging, #73 TecnoSun, and #74 Google.
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Calif. Co. Disinvestment Event # 74:
Out-of-State Location: Arlington, Oregon
California Community HQ or Facility: Mountain View
California County: Santa Clara
Information: The Oregonian reported that Google is "investing $100 million in Shepherds Flat, the controversial, taxpayer-subsidized wind farm in Eastern Oregon. The search engine company is joined by subsidiaries of ITOCHU Corp. and Sumitomo Corp., which will together invest $400 million in the $2 billion project being developed by Caithness Energy. Google operates a large, power-hungry data center nearby in The Dalles. But power from the wind farm, partially subsidized by Oregon tax credits, isn’t going there. The project, near Arlington, will generate 845 megawatts for customers of Southern California Edison. The utility, like others in California, is racing to line up clean power to meet the state’s pending renewable energy requirements .... The Oregonian reported last month that the massive project is being subsidized by $1.2 billion in federal, state and local support. Last fall, a memo from Obama administration advisers to the president said the project was "double-dipping," and that the value of the subsidies exceed the value of carbon reductions from the project. Federal subsidies reduced investors' cost on a project that didn't need taxpayer help, according to the memo.
Source: The Oregonian, April 18, 2011 story, "Google, others join controversial Shepherds Flat wind farm near Arlington."
More Information: In an earlier story, The Oregonian reported that "The project is a poster child for the nation's love affair with renewable energy. From President Barack Obama to former Gov. Ted Kulongoski, from the Oregon Legislature to rural county courthouses, politicians have embraced renewable energy as an economic and environmental cure-all, a means to create jobs, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and combat global warming. They have backed that pitch with public dollars. Indeed, Shepherds Flat demonstrates how ... Oregon taxpayers subsidize California's renewable energy demand. It shows how developers have used the program's loose administrative rules to qualify for multiple tax credits for the same project. And it reveals how a program that was originally intended to promote conservation and clean energy morphed into an extravagantly expensive green jobs program. Stacking federal, state and county subsidies is perfectly legal. But the result is that taxpayers who subsidize a project may bear a greater burden for development than the company that profits from it. For Shepherds Flat, for instance, federal, state and local subsidies total more than $1.2 billion, about 65 percent of its $1.9 billion cost, according to a White House memo .... by any standard, the cost per job is enormous: $34 million per permanent position when all federal and state subsidies are tallied. The [White House] memo concluded that the carbon reductions from Shepherds Flat would have to be valued at more than six times the going rate for the climate benefits to equal the subsidies.
Source: The Oregonian, March 12, 2011 story, "The cost of green: Huge eastern Oregon wind farm raises big questions about state, federal subsidies."
More Information: Triple Pundit reports that the project will be completed next year. The energy produced by the wind farm will be sold to Southern California Edison and will help California meet its 33 percent renewable energy standard. "Google has invested over $350 million in clean energy, including $38.8 last year in two North Dakota wind farms."
Source: Triple Pundit, April 21, 2011 story, "Google Invests $100 Million In Oregon Wind Farm."
Type of Calif. Disinvestment Event: (CD-OSG) Capital Directed to Out-of-State Growth by a “green” company – out-of-state investment that occurs despite California being "ideal" for green companies. California offers subsidies and incentives to green companies, which are burdensome to taxpayers; the state over-regulates non-green businesses to force them to use most costly green energy; and a new law will spark sharp increases in already high electricity rates as an additional way to subsidize green industries. Despite all this, "green" companies locate new facilities out of state.
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Calif. Co. Disinvestment Event # 73:
TecnoSun
Out-of-State Location: Toledo, Ohio
California Community HQ or Facility: Unknown
California County: Unknown
Information: TecnoSun Solar Systems AG, a "green" German company that makes mounting systems for solar panels, plans to bring 20 to 40 jobs to Toledo in the next two years when it opens an office at the University of Toledo (UT). The Toledo Blade reported that "The facility will serve as the North American headquarters for TecnoSun, which plans to hire a CEO for the Toledo office within six weeks .... TecnoSun makes solar panel supports, called "trackers," that let panels follow the sun's path through the sky, maximizing their power output. The company will use northwest Ohio manufacturers to make its products in the United States. UT President Lloyd Jacobs said TecnoSun fits with the university's goals to foster solar innovation in metro Toledo. 'We are building the supply chain,' he said. At a press conference. [CEO Peter] Fischer said the start-up company had considered locating its U.S. office in California. However, the firm selected Toledo after meeting in January with UT officials at the World Future Energy Summit .... The firm was attracted to Toledo's skilled work force, access to highways and railways that would allow shipping throughout North America, and proximity to solar power research being conducted by UT and other local firms.
Source: Toledo Blade April 8, 2011 story, "Solar firm to bring 20-40 jobs to Toledo."
Type of Calif. Disinvestment Event: (CD-OSG) Capital Directed to Out-of-State Growth by a “green” company – out-of-state investment that occurs despite California being "ideal" for green companies. California offers subsidies and incentives to green companies, which are burdensome to taxpayers; the state over-regulates non-green businesses to force them to use most costly green energy; and a new law will spark sharp increases in already high electricity rates as an additional way to subsidize green industries. Despite all this, "green" companies locate new facilities out of state.
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California Company Disinvestment Event # 72:
Be Green Packaging
Out-of-State Location: Ridgeland, South Carolina
California Community HQ or Facility: Santa Barbara
California County: Santa Barbara
Information: Gov. Nikki Haley, the South Carolina Department of Commerce and the Lowcountry Economic Alliance today announced that Be Green Packaging LLC, a manufacturer of “green” packaging, will locate its new manufacturing and distribution facility in Ridgeland, S.C.. The company plans to invest at least $7.3 million and generate at least 175 new jobs over the next five years, with the potential of more jobs and investment added during that time. The company will manufacture and distribute consumer, industrial and food-grade packaging from the new plant. “What makes this great is that we said we weren’t going to just focus our economic development and job creation efforts on the cities but also the rural areas that need it the most," said Gov. Nikki Haley. The company said: “Green jobs and industry is more than a ‘slogan.’ Green jobs are jobs that help protect ecosystems and assist in biodiversity, reduce energy and water consumption, minimize waste and pay living wages and provide healthcare benefits for its workforce. Be Green Packaging felt this region and especially South Carolina, which has a long and rich tradition in the paper and pulping industries would be ideal for this 21st century business. The people of this state have the heritage, backgrounds and experience that will provide our company with the skills and resources for producing products made from sustainable plant fibers .... Be Green Packaging has been manufacturing in China since 2006 and distributing from one of its Boston warehouses .... the [area] would benefit from the educational programs and curriculum Be Green will help to develop in sustainable packaging .... this community will provide a national example of profitable U.S. manufacturing and jobs, it will assist the entire nation in developing sustainable environmental manufacturing protocols." An economic development official said, “Be Green certainly falls within the four business sectors we have targeted for the Lowcountry, and we look forward to attracting additional ‘green’ companies to this region .... Manufacturing is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2012 .... The company’s products are made from annually renewable plant fibers that are safe for people and healthy for the planet.
Source: Company news release, April 8, 2011, "Be Green Packaging Announces Jasper County Facility."
Additional Information: islandpacket.com reports that "The company could've sought an even greater reduction in its taxes under the law but will instead direct that money to an education program intended to teach area students about the packaging business .... Palmetto Electric Cooperative will provide $800,000 to improve the property under a separate law that allows utilities to claim credits against license taxes in exchange for aiding economic development. Be Green also could be eligible for statutory tax credits the state offers companies that create new jobs, network officials said. "
Source: islandpacket.com (Beaufort Gazette) April 7 story "California packaging company to bring about 175 job, $7.3M investment to Jasper County."
Type of Calif. Disinvestment Event: (CD-OSG) Capital Directed to Out-of-State Growth by a “green” company – out-of-state investment that occurs despite California being "ideal" for green companies. California offers subsidies and incentives to green companies, which are burdensome to taxpayers; the state over-regulates non-green businesses to force them to use most costly green energy; and a new law will spark sharp increases in already high electricity rates as an additional way to subsidize green industries. Despite all this, "green" companies locate new facilities out of state.
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