Trae Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/5860371.htmlSmart move by AT&T. Its not like being in San Antonio was bad for them, but moving to a much larger metropolitan area will definitely help them. Cool for DFW. Wonder where they will locate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/5860371.htmlSmart move by AT&T. Its not like being in San Antonio was bad for them, but moving to a much larger metropolitan area will definitely help them. Cool for DFW. Wonder where they will locate.Okay, my immediate thoughts are this ... glad they're staying in Texas ... but how did San Antonio lose them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted June 27, 2008 Author Share Posted June 27, 2008 I'm thinking AT&T wants to grow. They can grow in San Antonio, but DFW would be a lot easier. There is a larger talent pool there, and the metro area is three times as large. They already employ 16,600 people in DFW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I wonder if Dallas has a better telecommunications infrastructure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted June 27, 2008 Author Share Posted June 27, 2008 I would say it does. There are a ton of telecommunication companies in DFW. Most in the state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banking214 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 "Moving to Dallas puts AT&T's corporate headquarters near many of its key technology suppliers and other telecom companies that have major operations in Dallas . . . "http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800...articleid=25882 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tierwestah Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I'm happy for Dallas. It'll fill in some of that empty office space in downtown and possibly lure more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I'm happy for Dallas. It'll fill in some of that empty office space in downtown and possibly lure more.Wondering if they'll build their own tower? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted June 27, 2008 Author Share Posted June 27, 2008 Wondering if they'll build their own tower? Would be dumb to build their own tower with DT Dallas' market conditions. Luckily for AT&T, they already have a tower Downtown (with many AT&T employees) that they are moving into. They own this: http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&...ad4f623da105a34 Both from DallasMetropolis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimberlySayWhat Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I didn't even realize that it was headquartered in San Antonio. With that said, since it isn't moving to Houston, I couldn't care one way or another whether or not it stays in Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolBuddy06 Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I didn't even realize that it was headquartered in San Antonio. With that said, since it isn't moving to Houston, I couldn't care one way or another whether or not it stays in Texas. Felt same way too. But I'm still happy it's in Texas. Wonder if they consider Houston at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Analog Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Felt same way too. But I'm still happy it's in Texas. Wonder if they consider Houston at all. I'd doubt it. Houston isn't really known for it's telecommunication industry... whereas Dallas is pretty famous for it. DFW airport is more centralized in the country making travel easier. Plus, they have a large office complex in downtown Dallas. It's like asking if an oil company would pick Houston over Dallas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Felt same way too. But I'm still happy it's in Texas. Wonder if they consider Houston at all.I was kinda wondering the same thing, but I didn't want to sound small and petty.Moreso, I was wondering WHY they didn't choose Houston? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimberlySayWhat Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Texas Shmexas. San Antonio, Santa Ana. Dallas, Delaware. No Houston, no care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumber2 Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Makes no sense to move a company headquarters like that. The cost of doing business is higher in DFW, the competition is also close by making it easier for their talent to walk down the street. The cost of housing is higher, therefore they will be compelled to pay higher salaries to keep people happy. I think it was just the boss wanting to move. DFW has better golf courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Makes no sense to move a company headquarters like that. The cost of doing business is higher in DFW, the competition is also close by making it easier for their talent to walk down the street. The cost of housing is higher, therefore they will be compelled to pay higher salaries to keep people happy. I think it was just the boss wanting to move. DFW has better golf courses.I kinda' have to agree with analog overall. While making a major move like this, it IS about keeping and attracting talent. There has been more than a few times when its the city that decides where someone wants to transfer or work in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I think it was just the boss wanting to move. DFW has better golf courses.That kind of thing is a lot more common than people expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 That kind of thing is a lot more common than people expect. Rumor has it that the entire reason that SWB moved to San Anonio in the first place back in 1993 was because Ed Whitacre had been denied membership to a St. Louis country club. So, yes, it is entirely possible. I must add that it is more than just a little ironic that the nation's largest telecom must move 250 miles up I-35 to "be closer to many of its key technology suppliers and other telecom companies that have major operations in Dallas". Huh? You mean that telecommunications is not the best way to communicate? Thanks for the heads up on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Being a native of San Antonio, I think this is a pretty big loss for them. While SA does have a lot going for it, high-paying jobs is not anywhere near the top of that list. It is overwhelmed with service industry (relatively low wage) positions. Outside of Valero, I cannot think of another major company HQ'd in SA.A number of AT&T jobs will stay in SA, but of course many suppliers will follow suit. Definitely a blow to the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I kinda' have to agree with analog overall. While making a major move like this, it IS about keeping and attracting talent. There has been more than a few times when its the city that decides where someone wants to transfer or work in.And that was actually a pretty big problem.AT&T found San Antonio a pretty tough place to lure highly educated people from around the country and the education levels of the folks already living there are pretty darn low.This is a problem Houston needs to start being wary of in the future. We need UH to become Tier 1. We need HISD to improve. We need overall graduation rates to improve. We need Rice to grow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Makes no sense to move a company headquarters like that. The cost of doing business is higher in DFW, the competition is also close by making it easier for their talent to walk down the street. The cost of housing is higher, therefore they will be compelled to pay higher salaries to keep people happy. I think it was just the boss wanting to move. DFW has better golf courses.When you're in an industry that employs specialized labor, it actually helps to be located closer to your competition because there is a larger pool of specialized labor that you can tap into, and more easily. Its the same with energy headquarters relocating to Houston or high-tech locating in Austin. This tends to increase productivity because you have better access to the best workers in that industry. It probably helps a great deal that Dallas has a larger airport, too, and that it has a huge local concentration of lawyers, accountants, and other services that serve major corporate headquarters.Also, I'd suspect that an apples-to-apples comparison of headquarters occupations between Dallas and San Antonio would reveal that wages are pretty close to the same. San Antonio's overall average is just lower because it has different occupational concentrations than Dallas...and actually, if you break it down into cohorts by household income, San Antonio has close to the same proportion of poor people as Houston and a much larger middle class, but a small upper class...and on account of larger household size, they have lower per capita income. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted June 28, 2008 Author Share Posted June 28, 2008 Rumor has it that USAA (a San Antonio Fortune 500) may be moving to Phoenix, and Tesero (another Fortune 500 in San Antonio) may be bought out by an oil company in Houston (don't know which one). I hope neither really happens to SA. would be two more big blows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Texas Shmexas. San Antonio, Santa Ana. Dallas, Delaware. No Houston, no care.That's twice you've conveyed that thought, yet you continue reading a thread in the Dallas/Fort Worth/Metroplex section.I think, like many of the others here, we should all be happy it's not going too far away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted June 28, 2008 Author Share Posted June 28, 2008 Some say a move to Atlanta would have been smarter for AT&T. I'm glad they are still in Texas, but have to ask why Atlanta would be better than DFW. Would be a much more expensive move, and Atlanta does not offer much more than DFW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwcre8tive Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Recent corporate moves a selling point for downtown Dallas01:03 AM CDT on Saturday, June 28, 2008By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning Newsstevebrown@dallasnews.comhttp://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...e.45a8bf30.htmlSelling downtown Dallas to corporate America is getting easier, thanks to high-profile business moves.AT&T's relocation announcement Friday comes just a year after Comerica Inc. said it was shifting its headquarters from Detroit to downtown Dallas.And this move brings more workers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolBuddy06 Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 This is a problem Houston needs to start being wary of in the future. We need UH to become Tier 1. We need HISD to improve. We need overall graduation rates to improve. We need Rice to grow.Rice is growing, but towards medical research. Houston has no problem in that area. What Houston needs is a university dedicated to engineering and technology. With all of the oil companies that should have been here a long time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted June 28, 2008 Author Share Posted June 28, 2008 Sure does. Houston has a growing tech industry though. Gained almost 5,000 jobs last year, and is only about 50K, or so behind DFW's number of tech jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Sure does. Houston has a growing tech industry though. Gained almost 5,000 jobs last year, and is only about 50K, or so behind DFW's number of tech jobs.That's good news. But it's also troubling when you realize that the majority of those jobs are filled by new people moving to Houston. That's a sign that HISD isn't doing its job. Few of the big city school districts are. I found conflicting numbers online. I found an HISD web page claiming a 72% graduation rate. I found a Chronicle article putting the number at 55%. I'm willing to go with the Chronicle at this time because it's so easy for school districts to manipulate the numbers, and 55% would be much in line with other large cities. Think about that -- HALF of the kids in high school don't graduate. That's tens of thousands of people each year flushed into a life of low-paying jobs, and probably eventual poverty. If only half the kids graduate, how many go on to college? 20%? 10?I read a lot of the regional business magazines and one of the biggest complaints is that companies can't find educated employees. Some companies have to set up their own schools to re-train incoming workers in all the things they should have learned in high school (I believe that's how some of the organizations like ITT Tech got their start). Back on topic -- Dallas has a graduation rate of 44% (though DISD claims 80%). Though a company like AT&T is probably looking at college graduates rather than high school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Rumor has it that the entire reason that SWB moved to San Anonio in the first place back in 1993 was because Ed Whitacre had been denied membership to a St. Louis country club. So, yes, it is entirely possible.I must add that it is more than just a little ironic that the nation's largest telecom must move 250 miles up I-35 to "be closer to many of its key technology suppliers and other telecom companies that have major operations in Dallas". Huh? You mean that telecommunications is not the best way to communicate? Thanks for the heads up on that. Isn't it a bit foolish --not to mention utterly expensive-- to move your headquarters every 10-15 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimberlySayWhat Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 editor:That's twice you've conveyed that thought, yet you continue reading a thread in the Dallas/Fort Worth/Metroplex section. I think, like many of the others here, we should all be happy it's not going too far away. I click on the "view new posts" and read them. And of course since I commented in this one, I'll continue to read responses. Lone star, shcmone star. He he! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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