Dyson founder, a Brexiteer, slammed for moving HQ to Singapore
The decision to move Dyson's headquarters to Singapore has sparked a massive backlash in Britain against company founder James Dyson.
Politicians, academics and some Dyson product users took to social media to vent their anger at the move.
Yesterday, the Straits Times reported that the British home appliance manufacturer will be moving its corporate head office to Singapore, with a majority of its future investments being in Asia.
Dyson CEO Jim Rowan, who is also based in Singapore, said that the decision was not related to Brexit or tax benefits.
With the move, Dyson will be a "global technology company", he added.
But it has not gone down well with Mr Dyson's fellow countrymen, who accused the billionaire of being a "hypocrite".
He was one of the prominent voices from the business world who supported the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union.
Labour MP Wes Streeting took to Twitter to accuse Mr Dyson of "rank hypocrisy".
Mr Streeting alleged that the businessman has "no sense of responsibility to his workers or to his country".
Mr Sam Gyimah, a Conservative MP, tweeted: "Dyson's decision to move his HQ to Singapore reflects his narrow business interest. This is not just a transfer of two people.
"When HQs move, so does the intellectual property. Betrayal of the public who put their faith in him as a British business advocating a No Deal Brexit."
While some urged Britain to boycott the company's products, others said that Mr Dyson should give back his knighthood or it should be rescinded.
"Does anyone else feel like they've been mugged off, or is it just me? There was #Dyson making out that #Brexit would be great, next thing we know he mumbles about 'future-proofing' his business, & scuttles off. Let's hope #British consumers have long memories, Mr Dyson," wrote @riceytravels.
Despite the majority of voices on social media attacking the decision to relocate, there was some support for the company.
"Dyson hasn't 'deserted' Britain... two senior executives are moving to Singapore and there's no impact on UK production or research and development," wrote Twitter user @darrengrimes_.
Mr Dyson recently became Britain's richest person, with a worth of $13.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world's 500 richest people. His company's annual profit broke the record to reach £1.1 billion (S$1.95b) last year, up from £801 million in the previous year.
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