Airbus chief warns of redirecting future investments amid no-deal Brexit

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018 file photo, Airbus CEO Tom Enders poses for photographers after the Airbus Group press conference on the 2017 annual results in Toulouse, France. The chief executive of Airbus has warned it could move its UK operations out of the country in the event there is a departure from the European Union without a deal. Tom Enders issued a sharply worded statement Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 flatly warning that Brexit is threatening to destroy a century of development in the United Kingdom, a global leader in aviation. (AP Photo/Fred Scheiber, file)

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018 file photo, Airbus CEO Tom Enders poses for photographers after the Airbus Group press conference on the 2017 annual results in Toulouse, France. The chief executive of Airbus has warned it could move its UK operations out of the country in the event there is a departure from the European Union without a deal. Tom Enders issued a sharply worded statement Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 flatly warning that Brexit is threatening to destroy a century of development in the United Kingdom, a global leader in aviation. (AP Photo/Fred Scheiber, file)

Published Jan 26, 2019

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LONDON – World aerospace giant Airbus warned Thursday that it could be forced to redirect future investments in Britain amid a no-deal Brexit, suggesting it may move its British factories in the future. 

In a video issued on its website, Airbus chief executive Tom Enders warned against "the Brexiteers' madness which asserts that, because we have huge plants here, we will not move and we will always be here." 

He added, "They are wrong. And make no mistake, there are plenty of countries out there who would love to build the wings for Airbus aircraft."

Enders said Airbus "could be forced to redirect future investments" in the scenario of a no-deal Brexit.

"If there is a no-deal Brexit, Airbus will have to make potentially very harmful decisions for the UK," he added.

Enders called it a "disgrace" for the politicians failing to reach a deal in more than two years since the British referendum, adding that businesses are "still unable to plan properly for the future." 

He said, "If you are really sure that Brexit is best for Britain, come together and deliver a pragmatic withdrawal agreement." 

 As one of the biggest manufacturers in Britain, Airbus employs 14,000 people there, including 6,000 in its main wings factory at Broughton in Wales. 

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