Multinational drug group Bristol-Myers Squibb is moving assets worth as much as €25 billion away from Ireland to take advantage of lower taxation in another country.
The company says there is no threat to jobs in its core Irish unit, which has big operations in Swords and Mulhuddart in Dublin.
High-level business sources say that a number of other organisations are considering large-scale transfers of assets from Ireland.
While other large employers have cut jobs in Ireland to move to the low-wage economies of eastern Europe and Asia, the development at Bristol-Myers Squibb will see the assets in one of its main international holding companies move out of Ireland.
Such a move stands in marked contrast to efforts by other international groups to bring as many financial assets as possible into Ireland for tax reasons. As EU states such as Belgium reduce the tax they levy on certain business activities,Bristol-Myers Squibb is executing the transfer of assets through a voluntary liquidation of a vehicle called Bristol-Myers Squibb International Holdings Ireland.
This company owns 18 subsidiaries and affiliates in Ireland and the US, as well as New Zealand, Guatemala, Hungary, Spain, Colombia, Indonesia, Switzerland, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and Argentina. In 2005, it had pretax profits of €1.66 billion. The group declined to identify the new location for these assets. "As part of the company's ongoing review of its financial operations, Bristol-Myers Squibb has conducted this liquidation in order to align its overseas affiliates in a more efficient manner," a spokesman said.
"It is important to recognise that this is a liquidation of an entity that holds investments in other Bristol-Myers Squibb affiliates, without any business operations or workforce. This action does not or will not have any impact on day-to-day operations in Ireland, nor does it affect any jobs at BMS Ireland."
Other firms such as Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling, Pepsi Bottling Group, Pfizer, Banco Santander, Cable & Wireless and building materials group Holcim are also liquidating Irish assets. But some say the moves are not tax-driven.
