UK firms near point of no return for Brexit contingency plans, CBI warns
LONDON: Most British companies will implement their plans for coping with a disruptive Brexit by December if there is no clarity by then on how Britain will leave the European Union (EU), a survey by a major employers group showed.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said its findings showed how the lack of a breakthrough in negotiations between London and Brussels was endangering British jobs, investment and economic growth.
“Businesses have displayed remarkable resilience since the referendum, but patience is now threadbare,” CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn said.
“Negotiators must secure the withdrawal agreement before December to unlock a transition period.
“The message to politicians on all sides is: ‘your actions will echo through generations’,” she said in a statement.
The CBI has urged Britain to keep as close a relationship as possible with the EU after Brexit in March next year but British Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out its favoured option of permanently staying in a customs union with the bloc.
May has so far failed to reach a deal with her EU peers on their future trading relationship. Their next summit is due to take place in mid-December although a November meeting might be scheduled if talks progress.
The CBI said 39 per cent of the 236 companies it surveyed planned to implement contingency plans — including job cuts, adjusting supply chains away from Britain and stockpiling — by November if there was no clarity on Brexit.
A further 24 per cent said they would do so by December, while 19 per cent said they had already begun to implement contingency plans.
Eighty per cent of the firms said Brexit had already had a negative impact on their investment decisions, the CBI said.
The survey was carried out between Sept 19 and Oct 8. — Reuters
France awaits results from Macron’s pro-business push
PARIS: Emmanuel Macron has watched his approval ratings plunge as voters wait for his pro-business reforms to pay off – but for company leaders like Pierre Loustric, that’s not a problem.
“I’m not disappointed because I know what it takes to move France. It’s the same for a business manager: When you want to change your strategy,it takes awhile to see the results ,” says Loustric, who expects the lower taxes and eased employment rules pushed through by Mac ron to eventually help his fragrance start-up hire more people.
When Macron swept into the presidency in May 2017 vowing to shake France out of its economic torpor, the jobless rate was stuck at 9.4 per cent, well above the EU average and more than double the rate in Germany.
Nearly 18 months and a series of labour reforms later, unemployment has eased only marginally to 9.1 per cent – while Macron’s approval ratings have sunk to their lowest to date.