Xero offers to help US staff move to NZ

Xero CEO Rod Drury at his Auckland office in Parnell. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Kiwi software company Xero is offering to help some of its American staff move to New Zealand in the wake of the US election.

Company chief executive Rod Drury sent out a note to his staff this morning expressing his surprise and concern at the Donald Trump victory.

"Most concerning is the divisive rhetoric over the campaign, which may have been a cynical and planned strategy to win," he said.

For what its worth, my note to team @Xero this morning pic.twitter.com/O2UQ9NHYtj

— Rod Drury (@roddrury) November 9, 2016

"As the world becomes more tribal, our global community and purpose should be an example to all."

He said the company would help staff make the move to New Zealand - "just because we like to hang out with y'all".

Wellington-based business incubator Creative HQ is also encouraging Americans to head down under.

"Disappointed by the election results? Build the future from New Zealand," the company says on its homepage.

Meanwhile, the number of Americans entering the search phrase "move to New Zealand" into Google has increased exponentially in the past week.

According to the Google Trends tool, related queries include "Canada immigration", "how to move to New Zealand from us" and "how to move to Sweden".

According to Twitter trend tracker Trendsmap NZ, "terrifying" is trending in New Zealand, while the phrase "end of the world" spiked as the election results were coming in, according to Google Trends.