Johnson & Johnson cuts Tampa office space by 60% in Westshore move
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 14, 2023

Johnson & Johnson is slashing its Tampa office space by more than 60% as it moves to the Westshore business district from an East Tampa suburb.

The company, one of the largest manufacturers of health and personal care products in the world, has subleased just over 30,000 square feet in Corporate Center IV from Greenway Health. It will leave behind nearly 90,000 square feet in Hidden River Corporate Park, sources told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Data from Costar Group Inc. confirmed the sublease deal.

Marketing materials for the sublease space show that the initial lease runs through 2029, though the terms of Johnson and Johnson’s sublease aren’t known. While it is a significant downsizing for Johnson & Johnson, the sublease is large by Tampa Bay market standards. The majority of office leases in this market are between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet.

CBRE, which represented both Greenway as the sublessor and Johnson & Johnson, declined comment. Atlanta-based Cousins Properties, which owns the Corporate Center complex near International Plaza, declined comment Thursday.

Johnson & Johnson arrived in Tampa in 2015 to great fanfare. The company moved its North American shared services headquarters to the city in exchange for a state and local incentive package worth $6.37 million. At the time, Johnson and Johnson promised to create 500 jobs over the next three years and invest $23.5 million in its facility.

Johnson & Johnson did not respond to a request for comment. The company has been rumored to be laying off employees — though no layoffs are reflected in state filings — as well as shifting Tampa positions to its New Jersey headquarters.

The Tampa Bay Economic Development Council championed Johnson & Johnson’s arrival in 2015.

“An office trend we’re seeing is a focus on amenity-rich locations as a way for companies to attract and retain talent,” Craig Richard, president and CEO of the EDC, said in a statement Thursday. “Office needs have evolved since Covid, and most companies are reconfiguring their office space to accommodate hybrid work models.”

The jobs Johnson & Johnson announced in 2016 were finance, human resources, information technology and procurement roles. In 2016, Johnson & Johnson paid $3.3 billion for Clearwater-based Vogue International, which makes hair and body care products.