The Hague, Nov 15 (AFP/APP):The Dutch government said Monday it was “unpleasantly surprised” after energy giant Shell informed it of plans to move the firm’s head office to Britain.
Shell said it plans to switch its tax residence and chief executive from the Netherlands to the UK and drop Royal Dutch from its name after 130 years in a major shake-up.
The Dutch economic affairs ministry said that the firm “has informed the cabinet of its intention to move its head office to the United Kingdom.”
“We are unpleasantly surprised by this. The cabinet deeply regrets this intention,” Economic Affairs Minister Stef Blok said in a statement 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.
“Shell has assured us that the personnel consequences of this decision will be limited to the relocation of a number of executive/board positions from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom.”
Shell’s plan to end its Anglo-Dutch structure follows a number of setbacks in the Netherlands in recent months.
A Dutch court ordered Shell in April to slash its greenhouse gas emissions in a landmark victory for climate activists.
Shell must reduce its carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030 as it is contributing to the “dire” consequences of climate change, the court in The Hague ruled.
The largest Dutch pension fund, ABP, then announced in October that it would stop investing in all fossil fuel companies including Shell.
Shell’s plans also come as a further blow for the Dutch after consumer goods giant Unilever last year said it had become a fully British company.
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