Oracle’s Departure Another Sign Business Climate Deniers Are Dooming California Economy

The Bay Area Council today issued the following statement on the announcement by Oracle that it is relocating its headquarters to Texas. Oracle, a Bay Area Council member company, is just the latest in a parade of Bay Area and California companies to announce it is leaving the state, including HPE, Palantir, McKesson, Schwab, Jamba Juice and a number of important venture capitalists and other investors. 

“Anyone who doesn’t believe that this latest departure isn’t a threat to California’s economy is a business climate denier,” said Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council. “We are watching the unraveling on one of the world’s mightiest economies and the consequences will be devastating. California for too long has willfully ignored our awful business climate, even as we’ve enjoyed incredible success and prosperity. The COVID pandemic is now exposing California’s deep vulnerabilities as employers realize they have other, better choices of where to locate their business. We can’t afford to dither any longer or California will permanently lose hundreds of thousands if not millions of jobs to states like Texas that place value on business and investment.”