Hertz said Tuesday that the car rental company will relocate its worldwide headquarters from Park Ridge, N.J., to Estero, Fla.
Estero is on Florida’s southwest coast, near Bonita Springs and Fort Myers. Hertz expects that the new headquarters will be completed in early 2015.
The company is consolidating the corporate offices of Hertz and Dollar Thrifty in the new location. Dollar Thrifty, which Hertz acquired last November, is currently based in Tulsa, Okla.
"Florida is the center of the U.S. travel and tourism industry,” said Hertz CEO Mark Frissora. “This move enables us to be closer to leisure and business customers, as well as many travel and association partners.”
Starting this year, up to 700 jobs will be relocated to Florida over a two-year period, Hertz said. More than 2,000 Hertz and Dollar Thrifty employees will remain in New Jersey, including approximately 150 employees who currently work in Park Ridge.
All other Park Ridge employees will be able to retain their current positions at the new headquarters, Hertz said.
Frissora called the move to Florida the “best, most balanced business decision based on market factors as well as the needs of our employees and customers.” He added that New Jersey “has been our home since 1988 and would have been for countless more if not for our acquisition of Dollar.”
Hertz was founded in Chicago in 1918, and moved its headquarters to New Jersey from midtown Manhattan in 1988.