Read the memo AT&T sent staff about moving its global HQ to the Dallas suburbs

• AT&T told staff in a memo that it is moving its global headquarters to Plano, Texas.
• The new corporate campus would consolidate three existing locations in the Dallas area.
• Since instituting its full-time RTO plan last year, the company has experienced shortages in its workspace.

AT&T is ditching downtown Dallas for the suburbs.

The telecom giant said Monday it plans to move its global headquarters to a newly constructed corporate campus in Plano, Texas, starting in 2028.

The new global headquarters would consolidate three existing locations in the Dallas area, including the downtown skyscraper that has been AT&T's home since 2008.

A spokesperson told Business Insider that the new facilities will be designed for "collaboration, innovation, and engagement," and that the company still believes the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area is a good location for business.

Like many companies that have instituted full-time return-to-office policies, AT&T has experienced shortages of workspace and parking. AT&T said it has been developing the plan for the new headquarters for the past year.

Several north Dallas suburbs are among the fastest-growing cities and towns in the US, and AT&T's spokesperson said the new campus will be closer to where many employees live.

In a memo to employees, which Business Insider obtained, CEO John Stankey acknowledged feedback about expectations for "well-maintained and functional workspaces" that were raised in an engagement survey last year.

"This is an investment intended to put the employee experience at the center of our workspace," Stankey said.

Read the full memo here:

A New AT&T Global Headquarters in Plano

To: All Employees

I'd like to share some exciting news about the future of AT&T and how we work together.

After nearly a year of consideration, deliberation and planning, we have made the decision to invest in our employee experience and construct a new global headquarters at 5400 Legacy Drive in Plano, Texas.

Spanning across 54 acres of land, this location will provide us with the necessary room to cost effectively consolidate all Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex administrative space, including our three largest locations in Central Dallas, Plano and Irving, and create a corporate campus designed for collaboration, innovation and engagement.

The nature of the company and our work have both evolved significantly since we moved our headquarters to Dallas in 2008, but what hasn't changed is our belief and confidence in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex as the right place to operate a thriving multinational corporation. We are targeting partial occupancy in the new space as early as the second half of 2028.

Over the next few years, we'll be transforming this site from the ground up - demolishing the old buildings and designing a new, modern campus that's built for how we work best: together. This is an investment intended to put the employee experience at the center of our workspace.

In last year's employee survey, you shared your expectations for professional, well-maintained and functional workspaces. We made a commitment to invest in our workspaces to bring them to a common standard, notably in Atlanta, GA, Chantilly, VA and Bedminster, NJ, to name just a few locations. We will continue to evaluate and invest in our workspaces around the country as our business needs evolve and change.

I am sure this news triggers many questions and natural curiosity for nearly everyone. I am also sure that it will trigger speculation and editorial narrative by those outside the company. I'd ask for patience in getting the answers to your questions and suggest you ignore speculation from uninformed "sources" who are not participating in this work.

The planning team intends to share more information in a structured manner in the spring, which is when we will have more definitive answers and executional plans. While the small group of individuals responsible for this effort work to deliver the project on schedule and on budget, I ask that the rest of us continue to focus on delivering for our customers every day. This is just the start, and as this multi-year effort progresses, we promise to keep you informed in a timely manner.

I hope you share my excitement and anticipation for what lies ahead.

John