Chanel moves staff to global hub in London

Legendary French fashion house Chanel said Friday it had moved staff from New York to its global hub in London, a welcome change for the British capital which has been under threat of companies pulling out because of Brexit.

Chanel, founded 110 years ago by Coco Chanel, said it had decided recently to unite all its global functions in one place in an effort to simplify and rationalize its structures, and chose London.

In a statement to AFP, Chanel said London now houses its Chanel Limited holding structure, which groups most of the company's units previously scattered over various holding companies.

"The majority of the company's global functions which were previously in New York have been transferred to London," it said.

Some 50 jobs with global reach, including in human resources, legal services and finance, were moved across the Atlantic.

Chanel employs around 20,000 people across the world and the Chanel Limited holding company reported sales of $9.6 billion in 2017.

Several global companies, including Airbus, BMW and Siemens have threatened to pull at least some operations out of Britain once the country leaves the European Union in March next year.

Analysts are also predicting a wave of job transfers by banks and insurers away from London, which is Europe's top financial centre, as Britain prepares to quit the bloc.