This green energy company is leaving California for Texas
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- GAF Energy will close its San Jose headquarters Dec. 13 and relocate to Texas, laying off 138 employees, including engineers and technicians.
- The solar shingle manufacturer cites better market opportunities in Texas, not California’s regulations or high costs, as its reason for leaving.
- The move continues a trend of major companies leaving California for Texas. Those include Tesla, SpaceX, Chevron and Charles Schwab.
A San José-based tech company that sells roof shingles with built-in solar panels is the latest to announce plans to leave the Golden State for Texas.
GAF Energy will relocate its headquarters to Georgetown, Texas, on Dec. 13, the company announced in a notification document filed with state officials. The company said its decision was motivated by better market opportunities in Texas, rather than an unfavorable business environment in California.
The company will lay off 138 California-based employees, including technicians, engineers and managers.
The San José headquarters, which is currently used for research, development and solar panel manufacturing, was opened in 2021. Both in-person and remote employees will be affected by its closure, the notice said.
Required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, the notice must be issued by a company 60 days before a mass layoff.
Despite a growing narrative that California is hostile to businesses, experts say the state still has unmatched advantages.
GAF Energy, which is owned by Standard Industries, opened a manufacturing facility in Texas last year. The company plans to consolidate its operations at a new headquarters in the state, President Martin DeBono said.
“In light of ongoing changes in the solar industry, we are aligning our business and our team to focus on key markets where solar is most compelling for builders and homeowners,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “This decision was not taken lightly. We are grateful to our employees in San Jose for their contributions to the business and are committed to assisting those impacted through this transition.”
GAF Energy advertises a more practical approach to rooftop solar energy by embedding solar panels directly into shingles, rather than installing them on top of a roof.
The consolidation to a Texas headquarters will help the company “drive efficiencies, foster stronger collaboration and partnership amongst teams, and better serve customers,” the spokesperson said.
Though Silicon Valley is known as a premier tech hub and incubator for young companies, many firms have left the state in recent years, complaining of strict regulations, high taxes and costly labor.
Bed Bath and Beyond executive chairman Marcus Lemonis said he won’t reopen retail stores in California, taking a shot at Gov. Gavin Newsom and calling the state a risky environment for business.
Tesla moved its headquarters out of Palo Alto in 2021, the same year that financial services firm Charles Schwab relocated from San Francisco to northern Texas. Elon Musk moved the head offices of his other companies — SpaceX and X — to Texas last year, as did Chevron, the oil giant that was started in California.
Bed Bath & Beyond’s chief executive, Marcus Lemonis, recently took aim at California and announced that the company would not reopen stores in the state, writing on X that “California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses.”
Economists said the state remains the fourth-largest economy in the world, boasts a diverse pool of talent and is a hub of technological innovation.
GAF Energy did not point to faults in California’s business environment as a reason for moving operations to Texas. The company will suspend research and development and manufacturing in the Golden State, but will continue to sell its products to customers there.
