Silicon Valley-based technology company Oracle announced Dec. 11 it will move its headquarters from California to Austin. In a statement, the company said the relocation and a new, more flexible employee work-from-home policy "best position Oracle for growth and provide our personnel with more flexibility about where and how they work."

Oracle already has a presence in the Austin area. The company opened an Austin office off Lakeshore Drive at 2300 Oracle Way, Austin, in 2018. It also operates offices in Frisco and San Antonio.

According to the statement, Oracle will continue to operate its international and U.S. offices after the relocation, including its locations in Redwood Shores and Santa Monica, California, Seattle, Denver, Orlando and Burlington, Massachusetts.

"By implementing a more modern approach to work, we expect to further improve our employees' quality of life and quality of output," the statement read.

Oracle has about 2,500 employees at its 560,000 square-foot office space just south of Lady Bird Lake. According to media reports from the company's grand opening in 2018, founder and chairman of the board Larry Ellison said he plans to increase that eventually to 10,000 employees. Oracle is working on a second phase of its office complex to expand the site and increase the number of employees on campus.


A company spokesperson declined to share any information on how many jobs this will add in the Austin area. However, Austin Chamber Chief Executive Officer Laura Huffman said generally when a large company moves its headquarters, that equals more employment for the local area.

"We can expect to see new jobs in Austin. Whether or not the [Oracle] chief executives move to Austin, that remains to be seen. But generally when companies announce headquarters, there are a lot of core functions for these large businesses that will come to Austin as a result of that decision."

Gov. Greg Abbott shared a statement after the announcement, emphasizing Texas' "friendly business climate, low taxes, and the best workforce in the nation" as incentives for Oracle to relocate while criticizing some states for "driving away businesses with high taxes and heavy-handed regulations."

"Oracle is a global technology giant with an already strong presence here in Texas, and we are proud to welcome its headquarters to Austin," Abbott said in the statement.