Lure of the South takes a toll on corporate NJ; new demographics, globalization play roles
JANUARY 7, 2015, 11:36 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2015, 6:28 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Forty-five years after New Jersey’s manufacturing industry began its decline, as companies started moving their factories to the South, there are signs that the state’s corporate sector may be going the same route.
Tuesday’s announcement by Mercedes-Benz USA that it plans to move its corporate headquarters from Montvale to metro Atlanta followed similar announcements in the last 18 months by Hertz of Park Ridge, which moved to Florida’s Gulf Coast, and Sealed Air of Elmwood Park, which is moving to Charlotte, N.C.
So now three Fortune 500 companies, along with nearly 2,000 jobs, are moving or have moved to Southern locations that years ago would likely not even have been considered by corporate executives.
Though they cited reasons for their moves specific to their business or industry, it’s clear that the South now holds an attraction that it once did not. A variety of factors are in play, including lower taxes and operating costs, an improved quality of life and a stronger workforce.
“I don’t think it’s a tidal wave yet,” said James Hughes, dean of the Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy at Rutgers University. But change is clearly afoot, he said.
“What’s changed is the perception of the South,” he said. “After the first frontier companies moved there, they proved that there is no problem securing a high-quality workforce, and that people would migrate there if there were good jobs available.”
To be sure, many companies have left New Jersey for other destinations. New York’s Rockland and Orange counties, for example, still attract a good number of companies, including Hunter Douglas and Croton Watch Co. recently. Yet the lure of the South appears to be growing.
