Airbus is in UK for the long haul, boss tells government
THE chief executive of Airbus has reportedly made a personal promise to the UK government that the company will keep its British operations going “long into the future”.
Tom Enders’ pledge will be welcome news for workers at the giant Airbus facility in Flintshire and for those in the company’s supply chain.
Mr Enders is understood to have made the promise in a letter to Business Secretary Greg Clark, according to Bloomberg.
He stated that Airbus would see the UK as a “home country and a competitive place to invest”.
The aeroplane manufacturer employs 6,000 people in Broughton, where wings are made, and there was concern that Brexit could hurt the UK branch of the business’ long-term future.
In November, Katherine Bennett, senior vice-president of Airbus UK, described her job as “fighting to ensure that the wing design, what we call the crown jewels of aerospace, remains in this country”.
She warned MPs that “other countries would dearly love to design and build wings,” adding: “We actually do build wings in China.
“Now, believe you me, they are knocking at the door as a result of the situation we’re in in this country.”
Airbus has been boosted by a $16bn order from Emirates which Bloomberg claimed “helped bring its A380 program back from the brink, extending manufacturing through to 2029”.
Bloomberg reports that “at least seven countries have seized on Brexit as an opportunity to wrest away Britain’s five-decade dominance of wing construction for Airbus by pitching for a share of the high-value, precision manufacturing work”.
Airbus declined to comment on the correspondence with the Business Secretary.
Welsh Ukip MEP Nathan Gill said he had met Airbus and was sure that Brexit did not pose a threat to their future in Wales.
He said it was “obvious” Airbus would stay as the UK leaves the EU, adding: “I think it just adds to the now-catalogue of companies who are still expanding, still taking on people, and all ‘despite’ Brexit.”
Plaid Cymru AM Llyr Gruffydd argued that the UK needs to stay in the EU single market and customs union, saying: “The CEO’s commitment to stay in the UK is very welcome but Westminster must now commit to ensuring Airbus continues to be able to move its parts, including the wings made in Wales and the parts needed to build them, back and forth around their many European plants without barriers or tariffs.
“We must make it as easy as possible for major employers, especially employers of Airbus’ calibre, to do business in Wales and the best way to do that is for all of the UK countries to stay in the single market and customs union after we leave the EU.”