Frontier Communications Considers Moving Headquarters to Texas or Florida

Shelly Hagan and Julie Fine, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- Frontier Communications is considering moving its headquarters from Norwalk, Connecticut, to either Texas or Florida, threatening to join an exodus of companies and workers to the US south.

The telecommunications company is seeking tax incentives from Texas to turn its existing Dallas office into a corporate hub, according to a memo from the Assistant City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry to council members last week. Tampa, Florida is also being considered as an alternative location, according to the memo, which was earlier reported by the Dallas Morning News.

Texas and Florida are experiencing an influx of wealth as companies move to or expand in the states, which have no income taxes and business-friendly policies. Tesla Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. and Caterpillar Inc. are some of the major companies that have relocated to Texas in recent years, while Ken Griffin, the Citadel Securities founder, moved his firm to Miami last year.

Read More: A $100 Billion Wealth Migration Tilts US Economy Southward

Dallas council members next week are slated to consider whether to designate Frontier as an Enterprise Zone project. The label would allow the company to receive a refund of the state’s portion of sales and use taxes paid as part of its capital investment.

If Frontier chooses Dallas as its headquarters, it’s pledged to hire or relocate additional staff within a five-year period and expand and renovate its current Dallas office.

Frontier emerged from bankruptcy in 2021 and is focused on building fiber optic networks to serve customers in 25 states. Some of the company’s top executives already live in Dallas, including Chief Executive Officer Nick Jeffery.

A spokesperson for Frontier didn’t respond to a request. Adam Joseph, a spokesman for Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, said the administration is in regular contact with Frontier, but the company hasn’t communicated their intention or plans to move its office from Norwalk.

The company has more than 14,000 employees across the US, including 220 in Norwalk and more than 600 in Dallas, which is a US center for telecom-related companies.

--With assistance from Martin Z. Braun and Scott Moritz.