Samsung Electronics America is relocating its headquarters to Texas from New Jersey just eight months after moving into its new Garden State facility with much fanfare, reigniting criticism that the area's high corporate taxes and red tape are driving away businesses.
South Korean Samsung, the consumer electronics giant, confirmed that it was exiting 700 Sylvan Ave. in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, where it leases roughly 270,000 square feet, according to CoStar data. The U.S. headquarters will move to Samsung's existing campus in Plano, Texas, "building on our 30-year presence in the state," the company said in an email to CoStar News on Tuesday.
Samsung is "undergoing a business transformation designed to better position our organization for long-term growth and future success," the company said, adding that "as part of this strategy, we will be optimizing parts of the organization to ensure our roles and functions align to key business priorities."
Samsung's plan adds to the Lone Star State's bona fides as a mecca for companies seeking low corporate taxes and a business-friendly environment. The list of firms that have migrated to Texas is long, with the most notable example being Elon Musk's decision to move Tesla's headquarters from California to Austin, Texas. Earlier this year, Texas was once again recognized as a top destination for corporate facility investments.
Garden State business advocates and Republican lawmakers immediately blamed New Jersey's policies and high corporate taxes again for fueling an exodus of companies from the state, with Samsung as the latest example. Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill's new state budget had some provisions that opponents considered anti-business, such as no longer allowing companies to write off unlimited pandemic-era losses.
Samsung's North Jersey departure is slated to be completed by the end of the year and will affect about 1,000 employees. Its decision to leave New Jersey was an unexpected turnaround in light of the fact that it was only last year that the company held an event to celebrate its relocation to Englewood Cliffs from the site of its longtime headquarters, 85 Challenger Road in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey.
Samsung moved into the campus that consumer goods behemoth Unilever had vacated to move its own U.S. headquarters to 111 River St. in Hoboken, New Jersey, on the Hudson waterfront. Unilever, which owns the Englewood Cliffs property that Samsung is leaving, didn't respond to an email from CoStar News seeking comment.
GOP takes aim
The New Jersey GOP Assembly wasted no time needling Sherrill's administration about Samsung's exit. It posted a photo on X Monday of Democratic Sen. Andy Kim and Rep. Josh Gottheimer attending the ribbon-cutting for Samsung's new headquarters in September last year.
"Feels like yesterday," the Republicans posted. "Actually, it was only eight months ago. That's about how long it took for one of the world's largest companies to decide New Jersey's tax-and-regulation environment wasn't worth it. Today Samsung announced it's moving that headquarters to Texas. Great start @GovSherrillNJ! The ribbon-cutting photos still look great, though."
Michele Siekerka, president and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, or NJBIA, issued a statement calling Samsung's exit the result "of decades of anti-business policies" in the state.
"With New Jersey maintaining the highest corporate tax rate in the nation, by far, and its national reputation for business unfriendliness through regulation and other costs and burdens, we have seen our Fortune 500 companies go from 22 in 2018 to 15 in 2025," Siekerka said.
"These are not accidents, nor are they coincidences," she said. "However, this is also an opportunity. Governor Sherrill has signaled the need and want to improve our business climate, to reduce costs, red tape and other permitting and regulatory burdens."
Consolidation in Plano
Siekerka also cited ExxonMobil's vote last month to redomicile and make its legal home in Texas rather than the Garden State. The oil company was incorporated in New Jersey but its physical headquarters is in Texas.
Samsung's exit "on the heels of ExxonMobil's recent corporate departure from the Garden State after 144 years, is not surprising, but it is no less sad," according to Siekerka.
Sherrill's office didn't respond to a phone call and email from CoStar News seeking comment on Tuesday. But her predecessor, Phil Murphy, would often argue that New Jersey was never going to be a low-cost state, but that it had an unparalleled workforce when it came to education, adhered to progressive social values and offered great school systems.
Samsung already has a big presence in the Dallas suburb of Plano, with more than 400,000 square feet of office space spanning two buildings at Plano's Legacy Central.
It employs more than 1,000 employees in North Texas at 6625 and 6555 Declaration Blvd. at Legacy Central, which was reimagined from a former Texas Instruments campus more than a decade ago, in 2015. The nearly 1 million-square-foot office campus, owned by Regent Properties with dual headquarters in Dallas and Los Angeles, has been home to Samsung since early 2019.
Regent Properties CEO Eric Fleiss declined to comment on Samsung moving its U.S. headquarters from New Jersey to Texas, but said the firm is "happy and proud to be Samsung's landlord."
Legacy Central is nearly 100% occupied, Fleiss told CoStar News, adding, "We are gratified that Samsung is recognizing the opportunity in Texas."
The only availability at Legacy Central appears to be a nearly 53,000-square-foot sublease that Peloton is marketing for lease after the company pedaled out of its space.
Many ties to Texas
Samsung said its headquarters move was "intended to strengthen alignment across teams and offices, and sharpen our focus on the areas that will drive the greatest impact for our customers, partners and business."
Samsung's announcement also comes as Central Texas has become its chipmaking base with an existing chip fabrication plant in Austin, Texas, which it has operated since 1996, as well as its advanced foundry in nearby Taylor. The foundry, once expected to cost $17 billion to build, is expected to open by year's end. Samsung's investment in the project has grown to $37 billion, according to media reports.
The Taylor facility is one of the largest semiconductor manufacturing projects underway in the United States. Last July, Samsung confirmed it has secured a $16.5 billion, multiyear contract with Tesla to manufacture its next-generation automotive chips at the plant.
It was not immediately clear Tuesday if the state or city would offer any economic incentives for the relocation of Samsung's U.S. headquarters.
A spokesperson for the city of Plano told CoStar News, "This project is still in its early phase," when asked about Samsung's decision to place its U.S. headquarters in the city and if the city would offer economic incentives. She declined to comment further.