HPE joins tech exodus, heads to Houston.
Company will maintain innovation hub at current north San Jose campus
SAN JOSE >> Hewlett Packard Enterprise will shift its corporate headquarters from Silicon Valley to Texas, but will maintain an innovation hub at its current San Jose campus, the tech titan said Tuesday.
“HPE has made the decision to relocate its headquarters from San Jose to Houston,” the company said in a prepared release associated with its quarterly earnings report on Tuesday.
Silicon Valley will remain a major center for HPE’s tech endeavors despite the company’s decision to move its headquarters.
“We are incredibly committed to Silicon Valley,” Antonio Neri, president and chief executive officer of HPE, said in an interview with this news organization. “We are consolidating our footprint in Silicon Valley into the state- of-the-art campus that we created in San Jose.
Aruba’s Intelligent Edge business will have its headquarters at the north San Jose campus, Neri wrote in a blog post. HPE bought Aruba in 2015 in a $3 billion deal.
The decision by HPE to shift its headquarters from San Jose is a blow to the Bay Area and California, both scrambling to keep jobs and corporate main offices in the face of the brutally high cost of living. HPE said the relocation will not result in any layoffs.
“Houston has long been our largest U.S. employment hub,” Neri said in the blog post.
Construction has been underway since the start of 2020 on HPE’s new corporate campus in Houston.
“Houston is also an attractive market for us to recruit and retain talent, and a great place to do business,” Neri said on the blog.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise is one of the two companies that resulted from the split of legendary tech company Hewlett-Packard Co., which was founded in 1939 in a Palo Alto garage by William Hewlett and David Packard. The other company is HP Inc.
With much fanfare, HPE introduced the public — with top San Jose officials on hand — to its north San Jose campus in 2019.
“Ironically, today’s news about the consolidation of HPE’s operations will actually bring hundreds more HPE employees into its San Jose offices from other Silicon Valley locations, to our city’s benefit,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said Tuesday.
Despite the plans for the headquarters relocation, HPE insisted that it’s not turning its back on its Silicon Valley roots and birthplace.
“We aren’t leaving Silicon Valley, a region inextricably linked to our rich history and heritage since Bill and Dave founded Hewlett Packard,” Neri said.
The HPE site in San Jose,
located at 6280 America Center, is going to play a key role, the company said.
“Our San Jose campus will remain a hub for technological talent and innovation,” Neri said.
Aruba’s technology for lightning-fast wireless connections in a secure fashion makes the Santa Clara company a crucial cog for HPE’s success, according to HPE. Aruba’s software and equipment bolsters the ability of devices and big networks to connect securely to an array of devices no matter where the devices are located worldwide.
The explosion of devices, applications, and data continues to drive demand for secure connectivity,” Neri said in his post. “Through our Aruba business, we are uniquely positioned.”
Although it appears San Jose could actually gain jobs — Aruba at present is located in Santa Clara —
the mayor warned that government policymakers and community leaders have much to ponder regarding the Bay Area.
“The headline also delivers a wake-up call,” Mayor Liccardo said in comments sent to this news organization. “The move of HPE’s headquarters demonstrates how our region’s high costs — including housing, taxes, and regulatory burdens — make it increasingly difficult for employers to justify hiring any but the most technologically advanced talent here.”
It also may be a time for a shift in how local leaders perceive tech titans in the Bay Area, the mayor suggested.
“We need to stop demonizing our tech employers, and start working with them to chart a path to a strong recovery,” Liccardo said.