Why Oracle employees are ‘refusing’ to move to the company’s Nashville office despite that founder Larry Ellison calls ‘center of Oracle’s future’
Oracle is reportedly facing problems in pursuing its employees to move to its newest office in Nashville. Despite reported promises of tens of thousands of dollars in relocation incentives as well as offering a futuristic design and an in-house Nobu restaurant, the staff is refusing to move to the ‘world HQ’ that company founder Larry Ellison called ‘the center of our future’. The reason: A potential ceiling on their future salaries.According to a report by Fortune (via Bloomberg), employees are reluctant to move to Tennessee-based “world headquarters” due to financial concerns of tech workers wary of “pay band” demotions. The city has been categorised in a lower geographic pay band than California, which means workers will be paid lesser less in Nashville for the same job as compared to Silicon Valley.Employees fear that moving to Nashville will cap their maximum earnings. The difference can be judged by the fact that employees will be paid an average annual salary of $110,000 for the 8,500 projected jobs, this figure is said to be significantly lower than the compensation packages in California.
Oracle’s Nashville tech vision hits roadblock
In 2024, Ellison announced that Nashville will be the company’s new global epicenter, particularly for AI innovation and healthcare tech. The plan involved a massive 2-million-square-foot campus along the Cumberland River, featuring a pedestrian bridge and public parkland.However, the transition has been sluggish as Oracle reportedly saw a net gain of just seven employees in Nashville throughout 2025. Meanwhile, despite Ellison calling Nashville the ‘world HQ’, official SEC filings and the company’s own website still list Austin, Texas, as the world headquarters.Currently, only about 800 workers are assigned to Nashville, a fraction of the 5,000 based in Kansas City (following the Cerner acquisition) or the 5,000 split between Austin and Redwood City, the report added.However, Scott Twaddle, the senior vice president of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, said the company is attracting talent to build up its cloud and AI hub in Nashville.“We’ve seen great success recruiting engineering and technical positions locally and will continue to hire aggressively for the next several years. We look forward to breaking ground on this dynamic campus, which will add more public green space along the riverfront and incorporate a new pedestrian bridge creating greater community connectivity for the city that will become our global headquarters,” Twaddle was quoted as saying.The company is also heavily invested in the city’s infrastructure, committing $175 million to riverfront improvements. In exchange, Tennessee state leaders provided a $65 million grant, and the company stands to recoup 50% of its future property tax payments.
