Iconic Company Ditches Blue State For Georgia

Yamaha Motor Co. is pulling up stakes after nearly half a century in California, announcing it will relocate its U.S. headquarters from Cypress to Kennesaw, Georgia, the latest high-profile move out of the Golden State as costs keep climbing.

The company said the headquarters shift will roll out by business function starting in late 2026 and is expected to wrap in late 2028.

Yamaha said it is “undertaking structural reforms aimed at improving the profitability of its U.S. operations in response to cost increases resulting from U.S. tariffs and changes in the market environment.”

Yamaha manufactures ATVs, boat engines, personal watercraft and other motorized products. It is also known for its motorcycles, though those are not produced in North America.

The company’s Cypress office has served as its U.S. headquarters since 1979, after Yamaha bought the land a year earlier. But Georgia is not new ground for the brand. Yamaha moved its marine business to Kennesaw in 1999 and relocated its motorsports business there in 2019.

Yamaha said the California location is largely home to corporate functions and its financial services business.

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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp praised the decision and used it as a recruiting pitch to other firms still headquartered in California.

“After many years of great partnership, we are honored and proud to welcome Yamaha’s American headquarters to the No. 1 state for business,” Kemp said. “This is another loud and clear testament to what we offer job creators from around the world. To any other California-based companies looking for a better home, we’ll give you plenty of reasons to keep Georgia on your mind.”

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Kemp’s office said Yamaha already employs more than 2,300 workers in Georgia.

The move adds to the broader trend of companies and residents leaving California, driven by the high cost of doing business and political pushes like a proposed wealth tax targeting top earners, pressures that critics say are turning the state into a place where even legacy brands start looking for the exit.

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