The Reigate headquarters are to be relocated to Uxbridge which might mean losses of up to 450 jobs in the local area.
As Surrey Live reports, Canon’s UK headquarters will move to Uxbridge after a decision to “address efficiency improvements” and “outsource finance, business operations and customer service”.
The move will see the UK and Ireland headquarters move to the same location as Canon’s Europe, Middle East and Africa headquarters and therefore offer an opportunity to consolidate business activities and processes.
Speaking to Surrey Live, Yusuke Mizoguchi, Managing Director of Canon UK and Ireland, said: “Given that the EMEA HQ has been based in the UK for many years, it makes strategic sense to seek out opportunities to create a more streamlined operation whilst increasing our overall competitiveness.
“Having a joint location will enable us to look for opportunities to share resources and run a more efficient organisation which will also create some broader group opportunities for some of our UK employees.”
Local MP for Reigate, Crispin Blunt, has spoken out about his disappointment about Canon’s decision and said: “It is with great disappointment that I have today learned that ‘Canon UK and Ireland’ will be relocating its Head Office from Reigate to Uxbridge, where it will co-locate with Canon’s existing Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) HQ. This will result in the relocation or redundancy of 450 staff from Reigate within the next 12 months.”
Speaking to Surrey Live, Blunt added: “The move to Uxbridge is not the result of any negative business conditions in Reigate, but simply that the company has decided to consolidate its two existing headquarters into the larger of the two sites. There are currently around 750 staff in Uxbridge.
“In many ways, Canon has been a model employer which has not only contributed to local employment, but has also had a very positive approach to its local corporate social responsibility commitments.”
The article states that the building Canon currently occupy in Reigate will be put up for sale after the company’s move.
Read the full article here.
