Oracle changes its tune with HQ move to Music City
Nashville 'ticked all the boxes' for Big Red's employees, says founder Ellison
Oracle co-founder and CTO Larry Ellison has confirmed that the tech giant plans to move its global headquarters to Nashville, Tennessee.
The dominant database company has already announced an $1.2 billion investment in a new campus in the home of country music, creating 8,500 new jobs.
In an interview with former Senate majority leader Bill Frist, Ellison said Oracle would "ultimately" move its global headquarters to Nashville. It would be Oracle's second move in a decade. In late 2020, it upped sticks from its long-time home of Redwood City, California, to Austin, Texas.
"We want to be a part of a community where our people want to live, and Nashville is a fabulous place to live. It's a great place to raise a family, it's got a unique and fantastic vibrant culture. We surveyed our employees... [and] Nashville kind of ticked all the boxes," Ellison told Frist in a broadcast shared on Oracle Healthcare's LinkedIn feed.
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In an earlier package of announcements, Big Red said its new base in Tennessee is set to include 1.2 million square feet (111,400 sqm) of office space along the East Bank of the Cumberland River.
Nashville mayor John Cooper said at the time that Oracle would bring a record number of high-paying jobs to the city and invest $175 million upfront in infrastructure including a pedestrian bridge, environmental clean-up, a sewer pump station, and a riverfront park.
Ellison expanded on the plans, saying award-winning architect Norman Foster – famous for designing Apple Park, France's Millau Viaduct, and London's Gherkin – would lay out plans for offices, parkland, community health clinics, restaurants, and a concert venue.
"We want to be a part of the community. Our people love it here and we think it's where we're the center of our future," Ellison said.
Founded in Santa Clara in 1977, Oracle has said it would continue to support its major hubs around the world including US bases in Redwood City, Austin, Santa Monica, Seattle, Denver, Orlando, and Burlington.
Other tech giants leaving their California origins include HPE, which in 2020 said it would move a big chunk of its workforce to Texas. Elon Musk has also said Tesla's operations would move from Cali to Texas and Nevada. ®