Airbus says UK government must guarantee mobility to save jobs

Airbus said the next UK government must guarantee the planemaker’s ability to move people between plants in Britain and continental Europe in order to safeguard the long-term future of production in the country. It’s also vital for aerospace manufacturing to remain exempt from import duties once Britain quits the EU, Airbus CEO Tom Enders said Thursday. He spoke just as polls closed following the UK general election. Airbus employs 15,000 people in Britain at sites including the giant Broughton plant in north Wales, which makes wings for all of the company’s jets. The manufacturer also has a wing-design facility at Filton, in southwest England, as well as space and satellite factories in Portsmouth on the south coast and at Stevenage near London. “We are a company that obviously has an interest in a free flow of people,” Enders said. “Mobility between our sites in Europe is crucial. Sending people from Toulouse to Broughton, from Broughton to Hamburg and so on, that is very important.” While the UK sites are among the most efficient in the entire group, “any tariff barriers could also potentially impact the competitiveness of our activities in Britain,” the CEO warned. Enders added that while he’s hopeful the new British administration will understand the “huge importance” of the aerospace and defense industry to the country, there can be no certainties. <br/>