To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Sony’s recent decision to move their European headquarters to the Netherlands from London; and what plans, if any, they have to encourage Japanese companies to trade in the UK after Brexit.
Answered on
6 February 2019
Sony is an important investor in the UK employing around 6,000 people. Sony has recently taken a decision to set up a subsidiary in Amsterdam as part of their EU exit contingency planning. Sony have said they are not planning to change any of the functions in the UK, including the number of jobs in the UK HQ at this time.
The Department for International Trade teams in the UK and Japan actively promote and support increasing investment and trade between Japan and the UK and will continue to do so after we leave the EU. This was discussed by both Prime Minsters during PM Abe’s recent visit to the UK.