After nearly five decades of calling Orange County home, Yamaha Motor Corp. USA is set to relocate its headquarters, moving from Cypress, California to Kennesaw, Georgia. This strategic transition is expected to affect approximately 250 employees.

The renowned motorcycle and motorsports company cites this move as part of a larger plan for “structural reforms,” aimed at enhancing profitability amidst rising costs. These costs include challenges such as tariffs introduced during the Trump administration and evolving market dynamics.

The relocation is not immediate. Yamaha has outlined a gradual process, commencing in late 2026 and extending through 2028, to ensure a smooth transition.

Bob Starr, a company spokesperson, emphasized the rationale behind the move, stating that bringing all business operations under one roof in Georgia is a logical step toward greater efficiency.

“From an efficiency standpoint, consolidating all functions in Georgia just makes sense,” Starr explained.

This move represents yet another corporate departure for the city of Cypress.

Back in 2019, Mitsubishi Motors North America ditched its longtime HQ in the city after 31 years, moving roughly 200 jobs to Franklin, Tennessee to cut costs.

Yamaha’s Japan-based parent, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., says it will also unload the company’s sprawling 25-acre Katella Avenue campus — a major administrative hub handling finance and corporate operations tied to its motorsports lineup, including ATVs, golf carts, motorcycles and boats. The site doesn’t manufacture products.

Commercial brokerage Avison Young has been tapped to market the massive property, which spans nearly 279,000 square feet of office, industrial and flex-warehouse space across an entire city block.

According to the firm, the parcel could become one of the largest industrial redevelopment opportunities currently available in Southern California.

Georgia isn’t new territory for Yamaha. The company already shifted its marine division there in 1999 and moved its motorsports operations in 2019 — making the headquarters relocation the final piece of the puzzle.

City officials in Cypress say they’re disappointed but thankful for the company’s decades-long presence.

“As one of the first companies to locate in the Cypress Business Park in 1980, Yamaha has been an important part of our business community for more than 40 years,” said Alicia Velasco, the city’s planning and community development director. “We thank Yamaha for its long-standing partnership and look forward to working with its management to transition the site to new ownership.”