Caterpillar to relocate its HQ from Illinois to Texas after 100 years because it will 'attract new talent and opportunities' as it joins Elon Musk's Tesla as latest firm to leave woke state
- Caterpillar announced it will move its headquarters to Irving, Texas, this year
- The company has been based in Illinois since 1925, but has had connections to Texas since the 1960s
- The construction machinery company said the move would 'attract new talent' and would allow it to create more career opportunities
- Caterpillar joins the other 53 Fortune 500 companies that are headquartered in the Lone Star state
- Illinois Governor JB Pritzker called the move 'disappointing,' while Texas Governor Greg Abbot called the new a 'perfect fit for this international brand'
- Many companies, including Tesla, have recently moved to the state, which boasts no income tax, low corporate taxes, and affordable housing areas
Construction machinery company Caterpillar announced it would relocate its headquarters from Illinois to Texas after 100 years to 'attract new talent.'
The company announced the news on Tuesday that it would be moving to Irving sometime this year and would be relocating most of its staff. The company told Fox News that it believes most of its roughly 230 Deerfield corporate employees will move.
The company - which boasts more than 100,000 employees globally - has had a presence in the Republican state since the 1960s, but Illinois remained the largest concentration of employees in the world, Fox News reported.
Caterpillar, which has been based in Illinois since 1925, has become the next company to join Elon Musk's Tesla in the Lone Star state.
The construction company will now be the 54th Fortune 500 to be based in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott happily announced in a statement.
Caterpillar announced it would be moving its headquarters to Irving, Texas, this year after 100 years in Illinois. The company said the new move would 'attract more talent' and opportunities (pictured: Illinois headquarters)
Governor Greg Abbott celebrated the 'major win' for Texas, announcing the company would be the 54th Fortune 500 company to headquarter in the state
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (left) said h was 'disappointed' with the move, as the company has been in the state since 1925. Abbott (right) said Texas would be a 'perfect fit for this international brand'
'I am proud to welcome Caterpillar's headquarters to Texas and am excited for the economic opportunities this will create for Texans,' Abbott said in a statement.
Several companies have recently left liberal states in favor of the lower corporate tax state, including Tesla, Hewlett Packard, Oracle, and venture capital firm 8VC. Amazon also opened a tech hub in Houston.
The Fortune 500 company revealed it was moving its headquarters to 'attract new talent and provide additional career opportunities for our current employees to aid in retention,' a spokesperson said.
Caterpillar now joins the ranks of Elon Musk's Tesla, which also moved it's HQ to Texas. Since Abbott took office in 2015, more than 200 companies have moved there (pictured: Musk at the 2022 Met Gala)
'We believe it's in the best strategic interest of the company to make this move, which supports Caterpillar's strategy for profitable growth as we help our customers build a better, more sustainable world,' CEO Jim Umpleby said in a statement.
It also said the move would allow employees to have access to multiple high-quality school zones as well as suburban and downtown housing areas, Bloomberg reported.
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Many companies have chosen to relocate to Texas as the state boasts low corporate taxes at around 20 percent - one of the lowest in the country. The location is also toward the middle of the country, making it a central hub for communication and travel; corporate rent is also low, especially compared to DC, LA, or Chicago; and it's more affordable for employees, according to Hartman, a Texas office and warehouse leasing management company. The state also does not tax income.
Abbott also praised the move and Texas, calling the state the 'perfect fit for this international brand.'
Since Abbott took office in 2015, 250 companies moved their headquarters to the Lone Star state, according to a statement.
Illonois Governor JB Pritzker, who is seeking reelection, said he was 'disappointed' to see the longtime company leave the Midwest, as 'so many companies are coming' into the state.
'We will continue to support the 17,400 Illinoisans who work for the company in East Peoria, Mapleton, Mossville, Pontiac and Decatur – which remains Caterpillar’s largest manufacturing plant in North America,' he said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.
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