March 10, 2026 / 1:38 PM EDT / CBS Atlanta
After nearly half a century, Yamaha Motor Co. is moving its U.S. headquarters from California to Georgia.
On Tuesday, Gov. Brian Kemp announced that the Japanese company would be relocating to Kennesaw in the next few years.
The company said that the relocation will begin at the end of 2026 and last until the end of 2028.
The company's headquarters in Cypress, California, had been its home since 1979 after Yamaha acquired the land the year before.
The manufacturer of ATVs, boat engines, personal watercraft, and other motorized products had already moved its marine business to Kennesaw in 1999 and its motorsports business in 2019.
"After many years of great partnership, we are honored and proud to welcome Yamaha's American headquarters to the No. 1 state for business," Kemp said in a statement. "This is another loud and clear testament to what we offer job creators from around the world. To any other California-based companies looking for a better home, we'll give you plenty of reasons to keep Georgia on your mind."
Yamaha currently employs over 2,300 people in Georgia, the majority of whom work at its factory in Newnan.
The company said the move was part of a structural reform "aimed at improving the profitability of its U.S. operations in response to cost increases resulting from U.S. tariffs and changes in the market environment."
