By Jeff Bennett And Cameron McWhirter
Mercedes-Benz USA is expected to move its headquarters to the
Atlanta area from New Jersey, ending a more than 40-year connection
to the state where it employs about 1,000 people.
The announcement could be made as soon as Tuesday, according to
two people briefed on the matter. Mercedes-Benz USA, a division of
Germany's Daimler AG, has been based in Montvale, N.J., since 1972.
Reports of a possible move first surfaced in December.
A company spokesman declined to comment.
A move south would put the luxury car maker's U.S. headquarters
much closer to its growing Tuscaloosa, Ala., assembly plant, which
has been expanding and is expected to reach an annual output of
300,000 vehicles by 2016.
The move would put company executives close to other major
corporate headquarters in Atlanta, including Coca-Cola Co., Delta
Air Lines Inc., United Parcel Service Inc. and Home Depot Inc. Its
executives will have quick access to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport, the world's busiest airport in terms of
passengers.
The likely location of the new headquarters will be Sandy
Springs, a northern suburb of Atlanta, according to people briefed
on the matter. Porsche Cars North America Inc. has had its
headquarters in Sandy Springs since 1998 but plans to move this
month to a new headquarters closer to the Atlanta airport,
according to a spokesman.
The Mercedes-Benz move would be a welcome boost to the metro
Atlanta area, which has struggled since the recession and still has
an unemployment rate above the national average.
Mercedes-Benz had considered a move once before but backed away
from the idea. In 1998, the company agreed to relocate its Montvale
corporate headquarters to nearby Pearl River, N.Y. The move was
later dropped over rising costs.
The move reflects a continuing shift of U.S. auto industry
operations and corporate headquarters to the South. Companies are
attracted by low union membership in right-to-work states, low
corporate taxes, state and local incentives to relocate and easy
access to relatively well-maintained highways, rail lines, ports
and airports.
South Korea's Kia Motors Corp. opened a plant near Columbus,
Ga., in 2010. A year later Volkswagen AG opened a plant in
Chattanooga, Tenn. Other operations include BMW AG's plant in South
Carolina and Hyundai Motor Co.'s plant in Alabama. The Georgia
Ports Authority's port at Brunswick, Ga., is one of the nation's
leading importers of new automobiles.
Last April, Toyota Motor Corp. said it would relocate the
majority of its U.S. operations to a new campus in Plano,
Texas.
Over the next three years, Toyota will move its manufacturing,
sales and corporate headquarters to Plano from different sites
throughout the U.S. The bulk of the people will come from the
corporate headquarters now located in Torrance, Calif.
General Motors Co.'s Cadillac brand announced plans in September
to open its own headquarters in New York next year, breaking away
from the auto maker's home in Detroit. The office will be located
in SoHo and likely open in the second quarter employing about 120
people.
Write to Jeff Bennett at jeff.bennett@wsj.com and Cameron
McWhirter at cameron.mcwhirter@wsj.com
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