Panasonic has announced plans to migrate its European headquarters from Britain to the Netherlands in late 2018. This is following potential tax concerns related to Brexit.
The leading multinational electronics corporation is not the only company set to evacuate London following fears over the prolonged departure from the European Union.
CEO of Panasonic Europe, Laurent Abadie, has told Nikkei business daily that the company will move from just outside London to Amsterdam in October.
Laurent Abadie has revealed that Panasonic had been debating the move for the past 15 months. Primary concerns include barriers to the flow of people and goods.
The electronics giant is followed by other Japanese firms in expressing Brexit fears. MUFG, Nomura Holdings, Daiwa Securities and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group have also decided to move their European headquarters out of London.
The Japanese ambassador to the UK, Koji Tsuruoka, said earlier this year:
“If there is no profitability of continuing operations in the UK – not Japanese only – no private company can continue operations. So it is as simple as that.”
The Japanese corporations are not alone in their fears. Earlier this year we reported that Airbus may also be forced to relocate. The major UK employer hires 14,000 people directly at 25 different sites across the country including Stevenage and Portsmouth.
Instead, Airbus hinted that production may be transferred to North America, China or another European country.
In June, Jeremy Hunt branded the relocation of Airbus and other firms as “completely inappropriate threats”.
But Airbus and Panasonic are not alone. Earlier this year, the Independent reported that nearly 20 banks have committed to launching European Union hubs in Frankfurt since Brexit. The economy minister for Hesse has expressed confidence that Frankfurt will attract more. 60 firms are yet to decide on additional headquarters in Europe.
However, of the 222 large banks, insurers, asset managers and other financial services, over a third are considering, or have confirmed, they are relocating outside the UK to the European Union.
Of these banks, JP Morgan have announced up to 1,000 of their bankers working in the City of London are to move to Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg.
Though JP Morgan are only relocating 1,000 of their London bankers, some corporations are outright moving their headquarters from the capital. Barclays and Bank of America will move their EU headquarters from London to Dublin.
Additionally, Moneygram will move its EU headquarters from London to Brussels. European Medicines Agency will relocate from London to Amsterdam, taking 890 jobs with them, and European Banking Authority from London to Paris.
Whilst the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, was reported to use an expletive when challenged about business concerns over Brexit, more and more corporations are deciding to evacuate the capital.
