Panasonic to move European head office to Amsterdam: report

Japanese electronic company Panasonic is moving its European head office from London to Amsterdam, in order to avoid potential tax issues that may arise after the Brexit - the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union, newspaper Nikkei Asian Review reported on Thursday.

The move is scheduled for October.

According to Laurent Abadie, CEO of Panasonic Europe, the U.K. said it would lower its corporate tax rate to entice multinationals to stay after the Brexit, but this could result in the country being designated a tax-haven, which in turn could result in companies operating there being hit by back taxes from their home countries. Moving to mainland Europe will avoid this.

Abadie also said that the move to continental Europe will help the Japanese company avoid barriers to the flow of goods and people, according to the newspaper.

Panasonic's head office in London employs 20 to 30 people. Ten to 20 of them will move to Amsterdam. Only the investor relations department will stay in the U.K.