Net zero, net new jobs: Choose one.
Chevron Corp., based in California since the days of kerosene lamps, is moving headquarters to Texas after years of fighting Golden State officials over strict environmental policies and costly regulations.
The move announced Friday will end the company’s 145 years of being based in the most populous US state. The shift prompted Texas Governor Greg Abbott to welcome Chevron to its “true home,” while a spokesperson for his California counterpart Gavin Newsom dismissed it as a “logical culmination” of a years-long transition by the oil giant.
Doubtless those workers losing their jobs or forced to relocate will be comforted by the thought that their fate is the “logical culmination” of a long process.
Bloomberg:
Chevron already had slashed new investments in California refining, citing “adversarial” government policies in a state that has some of the most stringent environmental rules in the US. In January, refining executive Andy Walz warned that the state was playing a “dangerous game” with climate rules that threatened to spike gasoline prices.
Chevron’s CEO, Mike Wirth, is saying that the decision to move is not about politics, but about “what’s good for our company to compete and perform.” In reality, it’s obviously about both. He has clearly been eyeing Texas for a while and describes Houston as “the energy capital of the world.” Bloomberg quotes Wirth as telling an audience in, well, Houston back in 2019 that “policies in California have become pretty restrictive on a lot of business fronts, not just the environment.”
Chevron, which in a happier era was named Standard Oil Company of California, already employed more people in Texas than in its birthplace.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s spokesman commented that “we’re proud of California’s place as the leading creator of clean energy jobs — a critical part of our diverse, innovative, and vibrant economy.”
At 5.2 percent (June) the unemployment rate in this “diverse, innovative, and vibrant economy” is higher than the national average of 4.3 percent (July).
Bloomberg:
Light taxation, business-friendly regulation and a relatively low cost of living made Texas the most desirable destination for companies relocating over the last decade, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said in February. The state saw net migration of 7,232 firms and an addition of nearly 103,000 jobs between 2010 and 2019.
According to a survey by ConsumerAffairs, California ranks as the No. 1 state people are moving from, ahead of New York, New Jersey and Illinois.
The report revealed California saw roughly 17,000 people move out of the state, while only just over 7,000 people moved in, making it the leading state in outbound migration. In comparison, New York, which is second on the list, experienced significantly fewer moves.