Slushie drink-maker ICEE is leaving Ontario, its corporate headquarters for 30 years, and relocating to Tennessee.

The move to La Vergne, Tenn., about 20 miles from Nashville, will result in 127 job losses in Ontario. The last day for most management, production and distribution workers is expected to be in mid-February.

The company informed the California Employment Development Department about the pending layoffs in a letter received Sept. 25. It was posted on an updated, statewide list of layoffs Friday, Oct. 11, although the company announced its intentions to move earlier this year.

The layoffs are scheduled to start Dec. 1, with most of the separations becoming official Feb. 15.

Company officials did not return calls seeking comment, and it was not known how many Ontario employees will relocate and whether the company is offering severance pay or financial relocation assistance.

It also was not known how many job opportunities remained in California for ICEE workers. According to the company’s website, there are job openings for service technicians in about a dozen California cities, including Northridge, San Diego and El Cajon.

ICEE is the third major Southern California employer in recent months to set its sites on Tennessee. In June, Mitsubishi Motors announced it was leaving its North American corporate headquarters in Cypress and relocating to the Nashville area.

In September, electronics company TE Connectivity said it would close its research and production facility in Hemet and move 240 jobs to Tennessee and North Carolina.

John Andrews, Ontario’s executive director for economic development, said ICEE’s decision was not based on any problems the company had with the city.

“We’re sorry to see them relocate, but they got a fairly good deal to entice them to move,” Andrews said. “Tennessee has a good track record for that.”

The parent company of Carl’s Jr., founded in Anaheim 63 years ago, relocated its California headquarters to Nashville in 2017. CKE Restaurants Holdings, which also owns the Hardee’s, Green Burrito and Red Burrito restaurant brands, blamed high taxes and a stringent business climate in California, factors that have driven other companies out of the Golden State.

According to a published report, ICEE will get seven years of property tax abatements worth more than $900,000 from Rutherford County where La Vergne is located. Also, the state offers tax credits of up to $6,000 for each employee who makes more than the local average wage, a tactic that often lures companies and their corporate offices.

IRS data for the five years ending in 2017 found that almost 8,000 Californians have moved to Tennessee, a state with no income taxes.

Redlands-based economist John Husing said California’s regulatory environment on subjects like environmental controls is scaring some manufacturers away, and frequent changes in the laws create instability that worries employers.

Also, the cost of electrical power in California is considerably higher than other states, increasing the cost of doing business, Husing said.

“California can’t do anything about this problem because California does not have the political will to do it,” he said.

ICEE’s Ontario headquarters is on South Duport Avenue. Andrews, the Ontario economic development head, said the current demand for industrial space in the region make it unlikely the building will remain empty for long

The slushie maker launched in 1967 in Los Angeles County, the creation of a former Dairy Queen manager in Kansas who accidentally left soda bottles in a freezer. Among the company’s most popular products are cherry- and cola-flavored slushies. ICEE is also known for using the first spoons with built-in straws and dome-shaped cup lids.