Commodities broker Seaboard Overseas Ltd is to close its Bermuda office with loss of 12 jobs.The Royal Gazette understands that the operation will be relocated to the Isle of Man, following the closure of the Bermuda office on April 30.The posts to go are held by seven Bermudians and five expatriates. The company, which is based in Schroders House, on Front Street, has had a presence on the Island for some three decades.No one at the company, a subsidiary of Seaboard Corporation, of Kansas City, Missouri, would comment yesterday, but it is understood that an official statement is forthcoming.A source with knowledge of the situation said the decision to relocate was taken for a number of reasons, including the rising cost of doing business, the restrictions imposed by work permit time limits and the comparative advantages of the Isle of Man.The company's business involves the procurement and shipping of agricultural products internationally and so it is not impacted by conditions in the local economy.A source said Seaboard's decision had not been taken lightly since the company had had such a long association with Bermuda.The high cost of living had made it increasingly expensive for the company to pay the wages and benefits of expatriate staff it needed to hire and so had eroded the benefits of Bermuda's tax regime, the source said. The Isle of Man could offer similar tax benefits with a significantly lower cost of living.Work permit time limits were “unattractive” to the company, the source added.It is not yet clear whether any of the local staff will relocate to the Isle of Man with the company.Seaboard Corporation has annual sales of approximately $3.6 billion, employs 14,000 people around the world and is number 552 on the Fortune 1000 list, according to the company's website.