What major corporation will be the next to abandon L.A.? (Los Angeles: apartments, to rent)

[PDX_LAX]

Los Angeles' business environment seems to be chasing away major companies in droves. Hilton and Northrop Grumman moving to the DC region are the latest.

So what companies are likely to leave L.A. (sadly) for greener pastures?

Occidental Petroleum to Texas? It is the energy capital of the world and it's easy to do business there.

CB Richard Ellis to DC, Texas, Carolinas, etc.?

Thoughts?

(sorry for the pessimism!)

[Jay100]

I just hope Disney doesn't leave or some of the major movie studios. If I were a company, I'd leave.

[jbunniii]

I don't necessarily dispute your general point, but as I understand it, Northrop Grumman moved its corporate headquarters (upper management bigwigs) to the DC region to be closer to the federal trough, but its massive engineering/manufacturing facilities remain in SoCal. I don't think it had much to do with wanting to escape LA per se:

Defense titan Northrop Grumman to leave Los Angeles for D.C. area - washingtonpost.com

"We are a global security company, and all of the federal processes, whether the executive branch or Congress, are in the Washington area," said Wes Bush, Northrop's chief executive and president. "We think we'll be able to do a better job for our customers and our company by having our corporate office there."
...
Northrop executives said they expect to continue to have a "substantial" presence in California, with about 30,000 employees.

"This is not about a reduction in our focus on California," Bush said. "We believe the corporate office will function more effectively in the Washington region."

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by jbunniii

I don't necessarily dispute your general point, but as I understand it, Northrop Grumman moved its corporate headquarters (upper management bigwigs) to the DC region to be closer to the federal trough, but its massive engineering/manufacturing facilities remain in SoCal. I don't think it had much to do with wanting to escape LA per se:

Defense titan Northrop Grumman to leave Los Angeles for D.C. area - washingtonpost.com

"We are a global security company, and all of the federal processes, whether the executive branch or Congress, are in the Washington area," said Wes Bush, Northrop's chief executive and president. "We think we'll be able to do a better job for our customers and our company by having our corporate office there."
...
Northrop executives said they expect to continue to have a "substantial" presence in California, with about 30,000 employees.

"This is not about a reduction in our focus on California," Bush said. "We believe the corporate office will function more effectively in the Washington region."

They say that now, but as California becomes more and more hostile to industry, having their HQ out of state will make it that much easier to pull out of CA down the road.

[BRinSM]

apparently the guy who runs oxy has strong ties to LA so i can't imagine them moving while he is at the reins. also, i don't think disney or the movie studios are going anywhere either, they'd have to start from scratch as far as building new studios and infrastructure. it could happen, but in today's economic climate, the amount of time to recoup the costs of a move would take a long time and are probably just not worth it. most the big companies in LA are one many located here in their industry and birds of a feather flock together (movies, music, tv, logistics, shipping, biotech, video games, etc...). it has happened before where an industry pretty much just picked up and left (aerospace), but let's just hope that doesn't happen again.

[roosevelt]

It just isn't fair for a company to have to pay so many taxes and provide so many expensive benefits for employees, employees who in turn also pay so many taxes and have other deductions from their paychecks when 40% of the economy is cash only; so unfair......

[jbunniii]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

They say that now, but as California becomes more and more hostile to industry, having their HQ out of state will make it that much easier to pull out of CA down the road.

You may be right. And I know for a fact (from a friend who is a hiring manager at one of their South Bay sites) that most of Northrop's new hiring is not being done in Southern California but rather in places like North Carolina.

The main reason he cites is the high cost of salaries in California, and the inability to attract new workers from out of state (fresh college graduates OR experienced engineers) because even with the much higher salaries of today versus the 1990s, they can't afford a decent quality of life here, e.g., can't buy a house at all, can't afford to rent apartments by the beach like they could in the 1990s, etc.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

apparently the guy who runs oxy has strong ties to LA so i can't imagine them moving while he is at the reins.

He's probably more likely to move everything out of Texas into L.A. I'm looking forward to that so I can be reunited with my family out West.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by jbunniii

And I know for a fact (from a friend who is a hiring manager at one of their South Bay sites) that most of Northrop's new hiring is not being done in Southern California but rather in places like North Carolina.

Northrop Grumman current openings:

US Total: 2132
CA: 525
NC: 13

[CDGJFK]

Everyone seems to be moving to Washington DC. The new it place.