Green Dot Moves HQ From California To Texas

Green Dot is the latest company to embark on an exodus from California, relocating to Austin, Texas, CNBC reports.

CEO Dan Henry told CNBC that the company was planning a change to further embrace remote working as a lifestyle even after the pandemic.

“I want the best and brightest people we can find to join our team to help us be successful, and you can live anywhere you want,” Henry said, according to CNBC. “I’m not Jamie Dimon, I’m not going to force you to take the train three hours a day.”

By referencing Dimon, Henry was speaking of the comments made by the J.P. Morgan Chase CEO, who is summoning U.S. employees back to offices this month. Dimon has also expressed frustrations with the limits of teleconferencing.

Companies, particularly tech giants, have been moving out of California, partly driven by the remote-work lifestyle that has now made it less important to keep paying rent in expensive cities.

Others that have moved include Oracle, Palantir and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise.

Green Dot, according to CNBC, will focus on four hubs, including the new headquarters in Texas, along with WeWork-style offices in Florida, Ohio and California.

Henry added that the company would not be saving much from a tax perspective from the move. He said Texas was a “business friendly state” compared to California. He added that local rules could dictate how the company chooses board members.

Henry said it was “more important to be productive than be busy.”

“If you force people to come to an office every day, then everybody’s going to try to be busy,” he said, according to CNBC.

Texas has had a burgeoning tech sector for some time, including startups there raising $1.3 billion in funding through March 11. That funding demonstrates Texas gaining on Silicon Valley in terms of investments.