French energy firm moves jobs out of London, but Brexit not to blame

/ Financial News / Sunday, 17 February 2019 13:27

French energy giant Total has announced that it will move some of its trading and marketing activities away from London in a decision that is set to affect 200 jobs.

Total has become the latest in a number of high-profile multinational businesses to relocate their operations out of the UK capital.

However, Total has refuted the suggestion that the ongoing uncertainty over the UK’s Brexit deal with the EU has anything to do with their decision to relocate its operations to Paris and Geneva.

A number of leading economists have already warned UK politicians that if it crashes out of the EU without a deal then it will have devastating impact on the country’s economy.

The CEO of Groupe PSA warned that he was likely to divert future investment and manufacturing plans away from the UK because of Brexit, whilst rivals Jaguar Land Rover and BMW have also expressed their concerns ahead of the deadline next month.

However, in a detailed statement, Total said Brexit had absolutely nothing to do with their decision to leave London, although many Remain supporters have voiced their skepticism over the announcement and believe it’s yet another example that the global business community thinks Brexit is a bad idea for the UK.

The statement read, “Total plans to consolidate its LNG trading and marketing activities and bring together similar business teams currently split across multiple locations in Europe (London, Paris and Geneva. Total's European trading operations will be consolidated in Geneva, the leading commodity trading hub of the continent. Brexit is not at all a factor influencing this project. This project is the consequence of the necessity to regroup teams split between the locations after the acquisition of Engie assets and teams."

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