‘Bad Brexit’ will take toll on £80 bn UK investment plan, warns JLR
LONDON: Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover’s plans worth £80 billion will be in jeopardy if the Theresa May government reaches a bad deal with Brussels on leaving the European Union, the company said on Wednesday, reflecting ennui and worse in business circles over the current scenario of uncertainty.
May is due to meet her cabinet colleagues on Friday to try and reach a clearer position on the terms to negotiate with Brussels, following weeks of rift by pro and anti-brexit ministers, prompting criticism that a ‘civil war’ has broken out in her cabinet.
Days after other major employers such as Airbus and BMW sounded warnings over the impact of Brexit on business, Ralf Speth, JLR’S chief executive, said: “A bad Brexit deal would cost Jaguar Land Rover more than £1.2 billion profit each year”.
“As a result, we would have to drastically adjust our spending profile; we have spent around £50 billion in the UK in the past five years – with plans for a further £80 billion more in the next five. This would be in jeopardy should we be faced with the wrong outcome”.
The company’s shares in Mumbai reportedly took a hit following Speth’s statement, which called for more certainty, including tariff-free access and frictionless trade with the European Union. Supply chains of business are also spread across the EU.
Speth said: “Jaguar Land Rover’s heart and soul is in the UK. However we, and our partners in the supply chain, face an unpredictable future if the Brexit negotiations do not maintain free and frictionless trade with the EU and unrestricted access to the single market. We urgently need greater certainty to continue to invest heavily in the UK and safeguard our suppliers, customers and 40,000 Britishbased employees”.