Jaguar Land Rover says Brexit could cost 'tens of thousands' of jobs in stark warning by car giant
-
Loading... - Bruna Rayes
- 11 Sep 2021
- 1021 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
The Chief executive of Britain’s biggest car manufacturer has warned that “tens of thousands” of jobs could be lost if the UK doesn't get the "right Brexit deal".
The boss of Jaguar Land Rover said he had no idea whether his plants would be able to operate after Britain leaves the EU on March 29 next year.
Ralf Speth told a conference in Birmingham that JLR had lost a thousand jobs as a result of diesel policy "and those numbers will be counted in the tens of thousands if we do not get the right Brexit deal".
"Brexit is due to happen on the 29th March next year.
"Currently I do not even know if any of our manufacturing facilities in the UK will be able to function on the 30th," Speth said.
The boss of JLR, which built nearly a third of Britain's cars last year, was speaking ahead of a speech by the Prime Minister.
Mr Speth also said long-standing issues around low productivity in Britain could be compounded by a Brexit agreement which made the country less competitive.
"It is thousands of pounds cheaper to produce vehicles for instance in eastern Europe than in Solihull and what decisions will I be forced to make if Brexit means not merely that costs go up but that we cannot physically build cars on time and on budget in the UK?" he said.
He added: “What decisions will we be forced to make, if Brexit means not merely that costs go up, but that we cannot physically build cars on time and on budget in the UK?”
He warned: “Six months from Brexit and uncertainty means that many companies are being forced to make decisions about their businesses that will not be reversed, whatever the outcome, just to survive.”
Bridget Phillipson MP, leading supporter of the People’s Vote campaign, said: “The UK’s world class automotive sector is one of the crown jewels of our economy, but both the botched Brexit being pushed by the Prime Minister or a chaotic no deal Brexit being promoted by the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg would be a disaster for the industry.
“Hundreds of thousands of highly-skilled jobs in the automotive sector and countless others in the supply chain are being put at risk by the incompetence and recklessness of the Government’s ideological approach to Brexit, but they refuse to change course, even when the warnings are coming from huge employers like Jaguar Land Rover.
“With time running out and the negotiations stalled, and with the risk of a no deal Brexit rising all the time, more and more people are demanding their democratic right to a People’s Vote on the terms of Brexit.”
