The European aircraft maker Airbus could be the first of many firms to threaten to end its investment in Britain, putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk, if the government cannot provide urgent clarity on Brexit, the leading business lobby group has warned.
The CBI said a growing number of companies were making plans based on the assumption that Theresa May’s government would fail to strike a deal with the EU. The French-based aerospace giant Airbus, which employs 14,000 people in the UK, confirmed on Friday it was preparing to drop its UK investment plans as it started to “press the button on crisis actions”.
The firm, which operates from 25 sites in the UK and supports a further 110,000 jobs in its supply chain for parts and services, said it was working on the worst-case scenario – a no-deal Brexit – because of a lack of government detail on post-departure trading arrangements. Its concerns centre on fears that EU regulations will no longer apply from March 2019, when Britain leaves the EU, and uncertainty over customs procedures that could hit production and sales.
Josh Hardie, the deputy director-general of the CBI, said: “We’ve increasingly seen companies talking about speaking out as the possibility of no deal has grown. March 2019 is not far away when you’re talking about the kind of adjustments companies like Airbus would have to make to even be slightly ready for a no-deal scenario.
“Companies are now being forced to prepare for the reality of a cliff edge and I think we could see more statements like this if negotiations continue as they are.”
The head of BMW UK said the firm, which makes Minis and Rolls-Royces in Britain, needed clarity on future trading arrangements by the end of the summer. [...]
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