Engineering news
Bosses of aircraft manufacturer Airbus have warned their 15,000 UK employees that Brexit threatens the company’s investment plans in the country, and have explained why they hope Britain remains in the European Union.
With the Brexit referendum approaching in June the company has written a letter to its workforce explaining why management believe it makes economic sense for Airbus that the UK remains part of the EU.
The company, which employs 15,000 people in the UK to design and manufacture aircraft wings, said it was committed to its British operations regardless of the result of the referenum. However, the company believes that leaving the EU could make it rethink future decisions about where to invest its money. In a letter signed by six senior Airbus executives, the company said: “We simply don’t know what ‘out’ looks like.”
Airbus has become the second big British business to warn its staff about the risks of leaving the EU, following Rolls-Royce.
Airbus bosses wrote, “Our business model is entirely based on our ability to move products, people and ideas around Europe without any restriction. And we do not believe leaving will increase the competitiveness of our British-based operations.”
The bosses include Tom Williams, chief operating officer and Paul Kahn, president of Airbus Group UK. The letter from Airbus follows earlier comments from the company supporting a vote to stay part of the European Union.
The letter said: "Our position, which probably does not come as a great surprise to you, is we firmly believe that it makes good economic sense to stay inside the EU which has helped make the company the global success story it is today. Apart from anything else, we simply don’t know what ‘out’ looks like.
"Whilst we hope the UK will choose to retain its EU membership, the final important point to make is that Airbus Group remains fully committed to its operations in the UK and to its employees here."