Shell plans UK relocation, sparking Dutch outrage

Shell plans UK relocation, sparking Dutch outrage

LONDON: Energy giant Shell yesterday announced plans to switch headquarters from the Netherlands to the UK and drop Royal Dutch from its name in a major shakeup that angered the Dutch government. The plan, hailed by UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng as “a clear vote of confidence in the British economy” post Brexit, will see Shell switch its tax residence and top executives to Britain. The move deprives the Netherlands of its biggest company, which has for more than 130 years been a symbol of Dutch entrepreneurial spirit and is headquartered in The Hague.

“We are unpleasantly surprised by this. The cabinet deeply regrets this intention,” Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Stef Blok said on Twitter. “We are in talks with Shell about the implications of this move for jobs, critical investment decisions and sustainability. Those are hugely important,” Blok added. The Dutch business association VNO NCW said: “This is a huge bloodletting for the Netherlands.”

Shell in a statement said the changes were designed to strengthen the company’s “competitiveness and accelerate both shareholder distributions and the delivery of its strategy to become a net-zero emissions business”. It insisted that “the simplification will have no impact on” a Dutch court ruling that the