Texaco To Abandon New York HQ

Thursday, January 25th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

HARRISON, N.Y. (AP) â€” Texaco Inc. will abandon its corporate headquarters in Westchester County and move or cut 1,000 jobs if its takeover by Chevron Corp. is approved, the company says.

Chevron had already announced that the joint venture's headquarters would be in San Francisco rather than Harrison. But Texaco said Wednesday that nearly all its other administrative offices in Harrison will close as well, effectively ending its local corporate presence.

Besides the job loss, the move will add 575,000 square feet to the county's vacant office space. And charities and arts groups will probably lose one of the area's most reliable donors.

When employees gathered in an auditorium to hear the company's announcement, they were told that most of them can apply for jobs at other locations while others can take advantage of severance packages.

The combined company, to be known as ChevronTexaco Corp., plans to eliminate 4,000 of its 57,000 jobs after the takeover, expected later this year after antitrust issues are settled.

``It's an emotional thing to leave,'' said company spokesman Andy Norman. ``There is quite a bit of sadness''