Frontier Joins Texas Migration With Plans to Leave Connecticut

Shelly Hagan, Bloomberg News

Source: Frontier Communications , via Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Frontier Communications Parent Inc., the $3.6 billion telecom firm that went bankrupt three years ago, is moving its headquarters to Dallas from Norwalk, Connecticut.

Relocating will put the company’s operational base closer to its customers and biggest group of employees, Chief Executive Officer Nick Jeffery said in an interview. The firm already employs 600 people at an office in the Uptown neighborhood and plans to add more jobs in the region over the next 10 years.

He said the urban environment of Dallas was particularly appealing as the company focuses on building up its technology prowess and expanding its fiber internet service. Jeffery said the Dallas move should also help with recruitment.

“The kind of talent we want is more digital, more tech,” Jeffery said. “They’re probably gonna be living more in the town center, and we want to attract the kind of people who are going to come to work on a skateboard.”

Frontier’s announcement adds to a growing list of corporate expansions and relocations in North Texas in recent years, with firms drawn by lower costs of living, a business-friendly climate and zero personal or corporate income taxes. The telecommunications firm is also pursuing state tax incentives that would lower its costs.

Charles Schwab Corp. opened headquarters in the Dallas suburb of Westlake in 2021 after leaving California, and Caterpillar Inc. set up shop in Irving last year after leaving Illinois. Wells Fargo & Co. is building a new office tower in Irving, KKR & Co. is expanding its footprint in Dallas and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is building a new campus just down the road from Frontier.

Jeffery already lives in Dallas, having moved there from London in 2021 after serving as the CEO of Vodafone UK Ltd. He was tasked with helping lead Frontier out of bankruptcy and has focused on building out fiber optic networks.

Before deciding on Dallas, the company looked at other cities including Tampa, Florida, which is one of its largest corporate hubs. Frontier will keep a presence in Connecticut, which Jeffery said is an important market.

The firm isn’t requiring any workers to move from Connecticut to Texas, though those who want to go will be allowed. The switch from the cooler Northeast to sweltering Texas could be a shock to some, but Jeffery says he prefers it.

“Anyone who knows me, knows I love hot weather,” he said. “So this suits me just fine.”