The British are mad that Brexit supporter James Dyson is ditching the UK for Singapore

Photo: @dyson via Twitter
Photo: @dyson via Twitter

Well, this certainly sucks (badum tush) for Brexiteers. British citizens — both for and against the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union — are pretty incensed that the high-tech home appliance company plans to move its headquarters from England to Singapore, where its first electric car plant will be built.

A quintessentially British brand established by Sir James Dyson in 1991, the company made its name (and massive fortune) from its chic vacuum cleaners, air purifiers, fans and other household appliances that look as good as they perform. Overpriced for sure, but their gizmos last long, according to the cult of Dyson believers worldwide.

Despite having pushed for Britain to join the Eurozone (i.e., ditch the Pound sterling for the Euro single currency) in the ‘90s and ‘00s, Dyson was one of the staunchest and prominent voices to publicly support Brexit. For business reasons of course, as he believed that it would free Britain’s economy from the restrictions of the European Union Single Market and allow the country to make its own trade deals.

His outspoken nationalistic ideals, however, seemed hypocritical when his company announced that it’ll be moving its head office from Malmesbury to Singapore. Nothing to do at all with Brexit, said Dyson chief executive Jim Rowan, who asserted that the decision was made for “future-proofing” the business.

“We are a global technology company,” Rowan insisted. “Globally, enthusiastic owners are demanding high-performance products so we are deepening out operations and technology investments to meet their needs.”

To be fair, only two of Dyson’s executives will be relocating here. BBC reported that no jobs will be lost and other work at Malmesbury will not be affected.

The billionaire owner of the company, however, did not offer any statement of his own. On social media, however, folks had a lot to say about James Dyson and his decision.

Some pointed out astutely that Singapore signed a Free Trade Agreement with the EU in October last year, which would presumably allow Dyson (when based here) to reap the benefits. One of the key terms of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement? The EU will remove tariffs on 84% of all Singapore products entering the EU.

On the consumer side of things, even some of Dyson’s fans have decided to boycott the company’s products out of sheer disappointment.



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