Yamaha Motors is pulling up stakes from California and moving to the sunbelt. Courtesy photo
Another major corporate entity currently located in Cypress’ famed business district has announced its departure from the city.
Yamaha Motor Corporation announced this week that over the next three years, it will transfer all corporate activities from Cypress, California to Kennesaw, Georgia.
In a press release, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced that it has decided to relocate its U.S. group company, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (“YMUS”), currently located in Cypress, California, to Kennesaw, Georgia.
“This relocation will be happening, by function, over the period from the end of 2026 until the end of 2028,” the company said.
The action comes not as a total surprise to those in the motorsports industry, as the company reorganized in 2019, sending much of its operation to Georgia, a southern state where Yamaha already has three company offices.
Of greater interest to Cypress residents, however, is what entity will end up with the company’s plush 25-acre campus, as the company announced they plan to sell it.
“In connection with this relocation, the Company has also decided to proceed with the sale of all fixed assets owned by YMUS in Cypress, including land, offices, and warehouses,” Yamaha announced in the release.
When Mitsubishi abandoned their campus, Amazon built warehousing but was forced to keep the Katella office building functional and well-maintained.
Mayor Leo Medrano said the city is, of course, aware of the situation and the Council has discussed the overall business district strategy with staff at its recent strategic planning session.
He deferred to a statement issued by Planning Director Alicia Velasco on the Yamaha announcement.
“The City of Cypress regrets Yamaha’s decision to relocate its headquarters to Georgia. As one of the first companies to locate in the Cypress Business Park in 1980, Yamaha has been an important part of our business community for more than 40 years. We thank Yamaha for its long-standing partnership with the City and look forward to working with its management to transition to new ownership,” Velasco said in the prepared statement.
Yamaha said “this initiative is positioned as one of the Company’s key measures aimed at improving asset efficiency and enhancing profitability in the United States.”
Further, the company announced the decision at least three years ago internally and has slowly been transferring necessary assets to Georgia.
According to Yamaha,the Cypress facility has served as the headquarters of Yamaha USA for approximately 50 years.
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. aquired the land in 1978 and established the office in 1979.
However, in response to changes in the Company’s business focus within the U.S. market, the Marine Business was relocated to Kennesaw in 1999 to serve the customer better, and Motorsports Business was relocated to Kennesaw as well in 2019, according to research.
As a result, the Cypress facility currently primarily houses corporate functions and the Financial Services business. The total site area is approximately 25.1 acres (approximately 102,000 square meters.
In connection with the sale of these assets, the Company plans to utilize a sale-and-leaseback arrangement for a certain period to ensure business continuity and to facilitate a smooth relocation to Kennesaw.
Details such as the sale price, purchaser, and timing of the transaction are currently under review, the company said in its announcement.
Elsewhere, it has been reported that, in addition to implementing cross-business cost reduction initiatives, the Company is seeking over the medium- to long-term to build a profit structure that is not solely dependent on top-line growth, thereby transforming itself into a more resilient and robust organization capable of adapting to change.
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. is undertaking structural reforms aimed at improving profitability of its U.S. operations in response to cost increases resulting from U.S. tariffs and changes in the market environment, they said.
When Mitsubishi decided to move, the City Council voted back then to allow Amazon to utilize the space but insisted that the multi-million building that stands along Katella at the site must be maintained and not removed.
Therefore, while the Cypress business park retains its original look, fundamental changes in the market are slowly eroding, or changing, the priceless addition by the founder that has given the city an outsized corporate presence and more than $200 million in reserves.