Nissan Motor Company will move its US headquarters from Gardena (suburban Los Angeles) to Williamson County, Tennessee (suburban Nashville) in order to save money. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn noted, “The costs of doing business in Southern California are much higher than the costs of doing business in Tennessee.” The move will directly cost 1300 jobs in Southern California. Jack Kysar, chief economist at the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation estimates that it will cost an additional 1500 jobs through indirect impacts.
We wonder if the Democrats in the legislature have any thoughts about keeping business in California given their proposals to increase California’s already high income tax rates.