Tyco plans to move HQ to Ireland

Tyco is threatening to close its doors in Schaffhausen Keystone

Multinational fire and security protection specialist Tyco has raised more alarm bells by joining a growing list of companies that want to move their global headquarters from Switzerland to Ireland.

Switzerland’s status as a haven for international firms has come into doubt following a series of initiative votes curbing executive pay and foreign workers. In addition, Switzerland has been forced by the European Union to rethink its generous corporate tax code.

“Businesses have the best opportunity to thrive in stable, predictable environments,” Tyco chief executive George Oliver said in a press release.

“Ireland’s business-friendly atmosphere and its well established legal and regulatory framework and corporate governance standards provide Tyco with the most favorable conditions for maximizing returns for shareholders over the long term.”

Tyco, which has its operational HQ situated in New Jersey, set up its global headquarters in canton Schaffhausen in 2009. Shareholders will be invited to approve the company’s new relocation plans at its next annual general meeting.

The company said the move would likely increase its employee headcount in Ireland from 100 currently to up to 700 in the next three years.

Tougher fight

Last month, United states oil giant Weatherford said it would relocate its incorporation from Switzerland to Ireland. Last year, internet search engine Yahoo and water filter multinational Pentair announced moves in the same direction.

Switzerland is in the process of planning a new corporate tax code to replace the existing system that has been condemned as uncompetitive by the EU.

Last year, voters approved the Minder initiative that granted shareholders a bigger say on executive pay in listed companies. In February, another initiative demanded unspecified limits on the numbers of EU workers flowing into Switzerland.

Within the next two weeks voters will decide whether to adopt a minimum wage in Switzerland, a move that has worried many Swiss businesses.

In an interview with the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper, Adrian Hug, head of the Swiss federal tax administration, admitted that Switzerland has its work cut out to keep competing with other countries that attract multinationals.

“We have to fight harder today than before,” he said. “We can no longer just say: ‘Here is our tax system, look at it, it’s wonderful’.”

Equally, Switzerland has to prove to the EU and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that the alpine state is not just a tax haven for brass plate firms.

“We must show that companies are coming to us with substance,” he said. “They have to employ people in this country, pursue real business activities and create real value.”