Dyson has announced plans to relocate its workforce from Bristol, abandoning plans for a tech and research hub in the city despite a £100m investment in a new building. The firm, renowned for its vacuum cleaners, will move 180 staff members to its expansive campus in Wiltshire, consolidating all of Dyson’s South West employees in one location.
Dyson’s Malmesbury base also houses the Dyson Institute, where 185 undergraduate and postgraduate engineers study while working for the company.
This decision comes in spite of Dyson’s significant investment into a previously planned research and development hub in Bristol. The company, which currently leases office space on College Green, purchased and completely refurbished 1 Georges Square in Finzels Reach last year.
The £100m Bristol research centre, first unveiled in 2023, was projected to employ hundreds of additional AI and software engineers, as well as the global tech firm’s commercial and e-commerce teams for Great Britain and Ireland, reports Business Live.
It is understood that Dyson staff will no longer move into the building, but will instead relocate to Malmesbury. The Finzels Reach office block, owned by the Dyson family, will be leased out to another employer.
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While no specific date has been confirmed for the move to Wiltshire, sources at Business Live indicate it’s slated for spring, coinciding with the expiry of Dyson’s current office lease. Employees will receive assistance for the commute to Malmesbury, which is roughly a 45-minute drive.
The update comes on the heels of Dyson’s announcement last year to reduce its UK workforce by a third as part of a worldwide restructure. Hanno Kirner, Dyson’s chief executive, stated that the review was aimed at ensuring the company is “prepared for the future”.
Until 2019, the Malmesbury campus served as Dyson’s headquarters before Sir James Dyson relocated the company’s HQ from the UK to Singapore.
The move by the billionaire entrepreneur, who has often criticised UK economic policies, came after Brexit and positioned Dyson’s headquarters closer to its manufacturing bases and supply chains in Asia. This strategic relocation allowed Dyson to benefit from the EU’s free trade agreement and sidestep new trading barriers between the UK and the European bloc.
Despite a £2.2 billion loss over the past year, Sir James Dyson and his family remained the wealthiest in the West of England. The Sunday Time Rich List reported that Britain’s most famous inventor had a net worth of £20.8 billion in 2024, a decrease from £23 billion in 2023.