(The Center Square) – Blaze Pizza is moving its headquarters from California to Atlanta, a move that will cut the state’s corporate tax rate by more than a third.
Blaze said the move was driven by a desire for its “next wave of growth”.
Georgia’s GDP growth rate in April was 11.8% on an annualized basis, while California’s was 3.8% on an annualized basis, according to the latest data for the end of 2023.
Founded in Southern California, Blaze has about a third of its more than 300 stores in California.
In a statement, Blades said its 7,500 restaurant employees will be largely unaffected by the move, and that some non-remote employees have been offered “relocation opportunities.”
Blaze’s relocation comes in the wake of Governor Rubio’s announcement that it will close 48 California restaurants and eliminate an estimated 1,250 jobs, and a Hoover Institution report that found that California has lost nearly 10,000 additional fast food jobs since its $20-an-hour fast food minimum wage law went into effect last fall.
Today, the California Business and Industry Federation took out a full-page ad in USA Today opposing the fast food minimum wage law, along with an obituary-style message about the resulting business closures.
Examples of ads include those from Blaze’s pizza competitors, such as Mod Pizza, which is closing five California locations; Pizza Hut, which is laying off 1,200 delivery drivers; and Round Table Pizza, which is laying off 73 drivers.
“There’s a limit to how much you can charge for a Big Mac,” CABIA President Tom Manzo told The Center Square. “What restaurant owners are doing is either selling, not expanding in California (they have plans to expand in other states), or going out of business.”
The Blaze franchise website lists California as a state with “limited availability” for franchising, with other states tagged “inquire now.”
“The funniest thing is we’re trying to pay health care workers a minimum wage of $25 an hour and they have a budget deficit and they’re like, ‘I don’t know if the government can afford that.’ Hold on a second, you can’t, but surely the business owners can afford it?” Manzo continued.
Last year, California passed a bill setting a minimum wage of $25 an hour for health care workers, which will be gradually raised to $23 an hour starting June 1.
The bill would cost the state $4 billion in the first year, and with the state facing a $7 billion deficit, Newsom urged lawmakers to pass legislation to delay the implementation of the wage.
Governor Newsom signed the extension bill just in time on May 31.
Small businesses are not directly subject to the fast-food industry’s minimum wage, but they face pressure to raise wages as they compete for the same minimum-wage employees.
