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Sunday, April 27, 1997

Preparations under way for Sunbelt move

DALLAS (AP) - Telecommunications giant GTE Corp.'s annual revenue will make it the third-largest company headquartered in Dallas-Fort Worth, behind only fellow Rust Belt refugees Exxon and J.C. Penney.

But the region's newest new marquee name likely will confer more prestige than economic impact. GTE already has more than 9,000 employees in the Dallas area and says that not all of the 650 workers in its Connecticut headquarters and training facility will transfer.

GTE on Friday became the second Fortune 500 company in a week to announce a headquarters relocation to Dallas. On Tuesday, Union Pacific Corp. said it would move to downtown Dallas from Pennsylvania. said he would be in Dallas this weekend to work on the transition plans.

With GTE, the Dallas-Fort Worth area will be home to 17 companies in the Fortune 500.

A major reason for the relocation is the large number of GTE employees already in the Dallas area, said Charles "Chuck" Lee, GTE Corp.'s chairman and chief executive officer.

The company's biggest division - GTE Telephone Operations - is based in suburban Irving. Lee also said that it's inefficient to have GTE's top management in Stamford, away from its core businesses in the Dallas area.

"It's not leading to quick decision-making ... This is a very tough industry. It's exploding. Competition increases every day," he said, emphasizing the result of federal deregulation of the telecommunications industry last year.

Some issues in the relocation have not been resolved. For example, GTE hasn't decided what Dallas-area city will be the home of the company's headquarters. Lee said he will move into an office at GTE's sprawling Irving complex by the end of June, but that does not mean the corporate headquarters will be there.

Additionally, GTE's move may not result in a large number of new employees in the Dallas region. Lee said that the company is "streamlining" operations, perhaps resulting in the loss of some administrative positions, although not a big number.

The transfers from Stamford will start within the next few months and will continue through 1998, the company said.

In any case, North Texas will benefit, said Bernard Weinstein, director of the Center for Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas.

"It's a plum for the region to have them here," he said. "The national and international business community notes when big companies move."

GTE sells local-telephone and cellular service in 29 states. Among its North Texas territories for local service are Irving, Plano and Garland. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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