More than 500 companies with 50 or more employees moved one or more activities abroad, resulting in a move of over 30,000 jobs between 2014 and 2016, according to data from Statistics Netherlands.

Most of the activities that were moved abroad included administrative and management tasks. The industrial sector saw the most jobs shifted abroad as 11% of companies in this sector reported moving activities overseas. Meanwhile, 5,700 jobs were moved abroad in services and supporting IT functions.

The major reason given for moving jobs outside the country was lower salary costs.

Approximately 70% of the jobs were moved to other EU countries while 20% were shifted to India and approximately 10% were moved to Oceania and the other Asian countries.

Data from Statistics Netherlands also showed that 1 in 5 (20%) companies with a foreign parent company relocated while 3% of Dutch companies moved internationally.

More than 250 companies moved administrative and management positions, such as financial, accounting and coordination roles to foreign countries. While approximately 220 firms shifted core activities, production or delivery to new locations outside the Netherlands. These included factory jobs as well as design and maintenance.