Brexit: Over 7,000 finance jobs traded London for EU
More than 7,000 finance jobs have moved from London to the European Union because of Brexit, according to accountancy firm EY.
The group's Brexit Tracker has revised its projections for the number of Brexit-related staff relocations to the EU, from 7,400 in December 2021 to just over 7,000, and is significantly down from the peak of 12,500 announced in 2016.
Most firms made their decision on how to restructure their workforce ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period in December 2020.
Further relocations could result from European Central Bank checks on whether Brexit hubs in the EU opened by banks which used London as their European base have sufficient staff to justify their new licences, EY said.
Dublin is the most popular destination for staff relocations and new hubs, followed by Luxembourg, Frankfurt and Paris.
EY said Paris scored highest in terms of attracting jobs from London, totalling 2,800, followed by Frankfurt at around 1,800, and Dublin with 1,200.
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Omar Ali, EMEIA Financial Services Leader at EY, said: "The high number of potential job relocations reported in 2016 aligned with the uncertainty which surrounded the City’s ongoing relationship with Europe at the time.
"As firms gained greater clarity on what the post-Brexit landscape would look like, plans were consolidated and, in some cases, firms revised down the number of people they would need to relocate."
EY said that new local hires linked to Brexit total 2,900 across Europe, and 2,500 in Britain, where just over a million people work in the financial services sector.
The transfer of the management of assets to EU jurisdictions is also down. Since 2016, 24 firms have publicly declared that they will transfer just over £1.3tn ($1.7tn) of UK assets to the EU.
PwC warned that 100,000 financial jobs could be lost if Britain voted Leave.
