‘Brexit disgrace’ could push Airbus to quit UK warns CEO

The head of Airbus has torn into the Government’s handling of Brexit, branding it a “disgrace” and warning that the company could pull out of the UK if its ability to compete on the global stage is harmed by a no-deal departure.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Jan 2019, 18:01 BST
Updated 7th Feb 2019, 18:58 BST
The Airbus wing assembly factory in Broughton, North Wales, employs 6,000The Airbus wing assembly factory in Broughton, North Wales, employs 6,000
The Airbus wing assembly factory in Broughton, North Wales, employs 6,000

Tom Enders, CEO of the aerospace giant, said a no-deal Brexit could force Airbus, which employs more than 14,000 people in the UK with around 110,000 more jobs connected in supply chains, to make “potentially very harmful decisions” about its UK operations.

The firm added to its UK interests last year when it assumed control of the A220 progamme, formerly the Bombardier CSeries, the wings for which are made in Belfast.

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In its own statement Bombardier said: “Continued uncertainty, and the real prospect of leaving the EU with no deal, does not help with business planning.

“It is imperative that Parliament finds a resolution that works for UK business.”

Urging Britons not to listen to “Brexiteers’ madness” that the company was too established in the UK to leave, the business leader warned there are “plenty of countries” that would love to build its plane parts.

“In a global economy the UK no longer has the capability to go it alone. Major aerospace projects are multinational affairs,” Mr Enders said in a video message.

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“It is a disgrace that, more than two years after the result of the 2016 referendum, businesses are still unable to plan properly for the future.

“We, along with many of our peers, have repeatedly called for clarity, but we still have no idea what is really going on here.”

Chancellor Philip Hamond told leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday that post-Brexit Britain will still be a “great place to do business”.

Related topics:AirbusGovernmentBrexitParliament