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Yamaha Motor’s U.S. subsidiary plans to relocate its headquarters from Southern California to suburban Atlanta.
The maker of motorcycles, robotics and marine and power products said late last month that the move will begin at the end of this year and be completed by the end of 2028.
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Yamaha Motor U.S. intends to sell all fixed assets owned by the company in Cypress, California, including land, offices and warehouses. The Japanese company expects the move to help combat tariffs by improving efficiency and profitability in the U.S. market.
Yamaha has maintained a corporate headquarters in California for nearly 50 years; it acquired the land in 1978 and opened its offices one year later. Twenty years later, however, Yamaha moved its marine business to Kennesaw, Georgia, and its motorsports division relocated to the state in 2019. It currently employs thousands of people in Georgia, including a 1.3-million-square-foot plant in Newnan with about 2,000 employees.
All that remains in Cypress, meanwhile, are corporate functions and financial services sitting on a more than 25-acre site.
The company plans to use a sale-and-leaseback arrangement for a certain period in order to ensure business continuity and to facilitate a smooth relocation to Kennesaw. Details, including the sale price, purchaser, and timing of the transaction, are currently under review.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday that Yamaha’s decision to move came after a meeting between the governor and Yamaha executives in October of last year at the Southeast U.S./Japan annual gathering in Tokyo. He also took the opportunity to pitch other companies — particularly those in California — on relocating to the Peach State.
Yamaha is the second-largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world, and the fourth-largest by sales in the U.S.
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