Fiorina: Texas offered more - HP chief explains why 500 Roseville jobs went to Houston

Sac Bee ^ | 4/30/04 | Clint Sweet

[NormsRevenge]

When Hewlett-Packard Co. opted to move 500 manufacturing jobs from Roseville to Houston last year, that decision was made easier by the fact that Texas officials courted HP, while California's leaders appeared indifferent, HP's top officer said Thursday.

Speaking at a Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce luncheon, HP chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina said the technology giant received three calls from Texas Gov. Rick Perry plus some financial incentives from the state.

"We endeavored to interact with both governments," Fiorina said. "I couldn't get anyone to pay much attention in California."

The story served as an example of what Fiorina called California's need to compete more vigorously with other states and even other countries for high-tech jobs.

[NormsRevenge]

CARLY FIORINA STATEMENT ON APPOINTMENT TO GOVERNOR-ELECT SCHWARZENEGGER'S TRANSITION COMMITTEE

Arnold enlists Fiorina for transition team

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Not so long ago ...

A wee bit of irony ...

[NormsRevenge]

Jobs Jobs Jobs ... 8-\

[lormand]

I love slamming Kalifornia when recruiters contact me about jobs opportunities there.

[BibChr]

Part of the trouble with this line, though, is AFTER there was a New Kid in Town, change was imminent, and CF was one of the Gov's advisors, she still jerked a few hundred jobs out to throw to Canada.

Dan

[wesdale]

The decision to move the 500 jobs to Houston was made before Carly was invited to assist the governor. It was one of the decisions that came out of the "confidential" pre-merger consultations that took place between Compaq and HP.

Houston has a much lower cost of living with comparable living standards. In the grand scheme of things though, 500 manufacturing jobs is a drop in the bucket compared to HP's combined workforce (over 140,000 employees worldwide.)

There aren't too many companies in the world that can claim to pay that many salaries.

[So Cal Rocket]

"We endeavored to interact with both governments," Fiorina said. "I couldn't get anyone to pay much attention in California."

I have personal experience in this regard. I was on a team that was responsible for site selection for a new manufacturing facility with approximately 550 jobs. The candidates were California (where my company is located), Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi.

We met with delegations from each state government (as well as many local officials)... Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama all made promises on tax abatement, utility improvements and job training through Community Colleges. California did nothing... absolutely nothing, except to call in the California Coastal Commission to raise hell about the shipping facility we needed at local port.

Needless to say, the California facility (despite being the most convenient site since it was right next door to the engineering facility for the product) was crossed off early. Alabama got the factory and the jobs.

[kittymyrib]

I read that H-P is one of the few sponsors of Err America. I hope none of the liberal Californians wants to relocate to Texas. We don't need them.

[TexasRepublic]

Houston has a much lower cost of living with comparable living standards.

No thanks to the last mayor and city council. Houston's budget is a mess! Also, Texas will become another California if we don't get a grip on state government spending.

[wesdale]

You're right, the unfunded pension mess is gonna cost us. I still think we have a long way to go before anything like california happens here. For one, our state legislature is part-time, thus preventing those clowns from doing too much spending. I like the 5% cap on property tax increases that Perry is advocating. I'm not too happy about the way he intends to "pay" for it. Second, we're a right-to-work state, and although we have unions, they do not carry the same political influence as elsewhere.

All things considered, Texas is a great place to live and work. This had to be a factor in HP's decision to transfer jobs here.

[jjackson]

Houses are a lot cheaper in Houston too.