Yamaha Motor Corp. is relocating part of its operations to Georgia and selling its California assets after 47 years.
The company is the latest among a slew of businesses to relocate operations outside the Golden State to cut costs and improve profitability. Many cite high taxes and strict regulations as obstacles to doing business in the state.
Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A., the U.S. subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Co., has been based in Cypress since 1979. It will begin its move to Kennesaw, Ga., at the end of this year and complete the moving process by the end of 2028, the company said in an announcement.
The company’s marine and motorsports business facilities already moved to Kennesaw in 1999 and 2019, respectively. The Cypress facility currently houses corporate functions and the financial services business on roughly 25 acres, the company said.
Yamaha said it will sell all its land, offices, warehouses and other fixed assets in California. It will use a sale-and-leaseback arrangement for a temporary period to ensure a smooth transition and business continuity.
“This initiative is positioned as one of the Company’s key measures aimed at improving asset efficiency and enhancing profitability in the United States,” the company said in its announcement of the move. Yamaha “is undertaking structural reforms … in response to cost increases resulting from U.S. tariffs and changes in the market environment,” it said.
Yamaha Motor was founded in Japan in 1955 and began selling its products in the U.S. in 1960. The company got its start making motorcycles for racing and contests, and released its first boat motor in 1960. It acquired land in Cypress in 1978 and established an office there one year later.
Some companies have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with California’s business environment.
Last year, Bed Bath & Beyond’s executive chairman, Marcus Lemonis, said his bankrupt company won’t be reopening any stores in California, where it used to have more than 80 locations.
“California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses,” Lemonis said in a statement posted on X in August.
Also in August, In-N-Out owner Lynsi Synder announced she was moving her family from California to Tennessee, where she planned to open a new regional headquarters. In-N-Out’s California headquarters remains operational.
“There’s a lot of great things about California, but raising a family is not easy here,” Snyder said on a podcast at the time. “Doing business is not easy here.”
Tesla moved its headquarters out of Palo Alto in 2021, the same year that financial services firm Charles Schwab relocated from San Francisco to north Texas.
Elon Musk moved the head offices of his other companies — SpaceX and X — to Texas in 2024, as did Chevron, the oil giant that was started in California.
