Airbus threatens to pull business from UK in event of 'no-deal' Brexit, putting thousands of jobs at risk

Airbus: The aerospace firm has warned it could pull out of the UK with the loss of thousands of jobs in the event of a "no-deal" Brexit
PA

Aerospace firm Airbus has warned it could pull out of the UK with the loss of thousands of jobs in the event of a "no-deal" Brexit.

The firm, which employs 14,000 people at 25 sites across the country, said it would "reconsider its investments in the UK, and its long-term footprint in the country".

Its move would be made if Britain crashed out of the single market and customs union without a transition agreement, company said on Thursday.

Publishing a Brexit "risk assessment", the firm also called on the Government to extend the planned transition period due to run until December 2020 if a deal is agreed.

It is too short for the business to reorganise its supply chain, a statement read.

If there was no extension it would "carefully monitor any new investments in the UK and refrain from extending the UK suppliers/partners base", it said.

Tom Williams, the chief operating officer of Airbus Commercial Aircraft, said: "In any scenario, Brexit has severe negative consequences for the UK aerospace industry and Airbus in particular.

"Therefore, immediate mitigation measures would need to be accelerated.

"While Airbus understands that the political process must go on, as a responsible business we require immediate details on the pragmatic steps that should be taken to operate competitively.

"Without these, Airbus believes that the impacts on our UK operations could be significant.

"We have sought to highlight our concerns over the past 12 months, without success.

"Far from Project Fear, this is a dawning reality for Airbus.

"Put simply, a no-deal scenario directly threatens Airbus' future in the UK."

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