2 months Ago
Growing Costs and Regulatory Burden
According to Alexander de Jonge, third-generation director and majority owner of J. de Jonge Group in Vlaardingen, "It's becoming unbearable. The politics? They are as slow as thick manure. My clients have trouble being sustainable because of rising energy costs, slow permits, and nitrogen rules. It just makes you insane."
J. de Jonge Group, which was founded in 1954, designs and builds storage tanks and industrial installations in the harbour. They employ 650 people. De Jonge noted the loss of two American chemical companies leaving Rotterdam, and Shell recently slashed a biofuel plant due to a variety of factors, showing that the Netherlands is losing its competitive edge, and his company is moving to focus more on the Middle East and the United States.
Talent and Business Drain Overseas
Staffing is another burden. "We abolished vocational technical schools years ago, so now we are too short on skilled workers. It is getting harder to find workers from outside the EU. Our goal is to have at least 40% of our revenue abroad," said De Jonge. Surveys conducted by leading business groups indicate that family firms (and many other businesses) report similar frustrations.
Other entrepreneurs have already left to conduct business elsewhere. Cor Zuidema, who left for Dubai two years ago, now has a networking group of around 450 Dutch people working in Dubai. "From the ten people I am advising to move to Dubai, I have eight who are moving their assets there and two who are leaving completely. That second group appears to be getting larger. The reason is not the tax; it is the lack of respect from the government. It is becoming increasingly difficult to be an entrepreneur," Zuidema said.
Impact on Economy and Looking Ahead
Stefan Tax, a representative of family businesses, warns of the wider economic implications. "There is an exodus of businesses away from the Netherlands. If you overburden productive businesses or make them leave, who will maintain prosperity, jobs, and tax revenues?" Tax said. Many in the business community believe that without policy changes and new support, there will be more businesses shifting away from the Dutch market.
