{"id":15436,"date":"2018-06-22T15:38:14","date_gmt":"2018-06-22T14:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=15436"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:58:41","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:58:41","slug":"brexit-uk-aerospace-threat-airbus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=15436","title":{"rendered":"Aerospace take-off?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The aerospace industry in the UK is among the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest and most high-tech sectors \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in fact, British aerospace is the largest in Europe, second only to the US, with a global market share of more than 6 per cent.<\/p>\n

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In 2017, aerospace employed 120,000 people in the UK and the sector is growing rapidly \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expanded 39 per cent in the last five years alone. Beyond those directly employed in aerospace, the industry strongly benefits the rest of the economy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it supports an additional 118,000 jobs in the wider supply chain.<\/p>\n

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The immediate future for aerospace looks bright too, given skyrocketing demand for new planes.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe estimate that the world is going to buy roughly 40,000 new planes over the next 20 years,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Boeing Europe president Sir Michael Arthur told the Telegraph earlier this year<\/a>. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAsia-Pacific is the biggest growth area, but after that the US and Europe are about neck and neck, so demand is worldwide.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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As the Telegraph highlights, each plane order represents a boost for British aerospace workers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the 787 Dreamliners are built with Rolls-Royce engines; Boeing provides commercial aircraft maintenance solutions in Surrey; and the winglets for the 737 Max are made in the Isle of Wight by GKN.<\/p>\n

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While Britain is poised to dominate the world aerospace market, thanks in large part to its highly skilled workforce, the sector is now under serious threat as the UK stands on the precipice of Brexit.<\/p>\n

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Brexit threat<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Brexit threat was today (June 22) brought into sharp relief by one of Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest aerospace firms, Airbus, which said it may scrap plans to build new wings in Britain over fears that EU regulations will no longer apply from March next year.<\/p>\n

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Airbus Commercial Aircraft chief operating officer Tom Williams said today (June 22) that the firm was preparing itself to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bpress the button on crisis actions\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 including thousands of potential job cuts if the government did not give clarity and certainty over Brexit negotiations.<\/p>\n

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When asked on BBC Radio 4\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Today programme whether the company was planning on keeping new wing production in the UK, he responded, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are seriously considering whether we should continue that development or we should find alternate solutions.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Labour MP for Bristol North West Darren Jones, whose constituency encompasses an Airbus site in Filton, explained how such a move would impact the local community.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stress how devastating this would be for North Bristol, where wing production is the core part of the Airbus business,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he tweeted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd after the GKN hostile takeover by Melrose, whose biggest customer is…Airbus. The Government has to act now.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Unite convenor at Airbus in Filton Mike Byfield echoed Jones\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 concerns as he pointed out on BBC News that Airbus employs 14,000 people directly and another 100,000 in the wider supply chain.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf the UK becomes an unattractive place to do business, that makes us fear for future work,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

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Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shadow Brexit secretary Kier Starmer said that the news that Airbus is considering pulling out of the UK \u00e2\u20ac\u015bwill cause deep distress to the thousands of families who rely on the quality jobs and income that this major employer provides.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s imperative we get a deal with the EU that provides the reassurance necessary to keep skilled jobs in Britain \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for workers today and for future generations,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMinisters needs to start listening to legitimate concerns of businesses and get a grip of the Brexit negotiations.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Unite assistant general secretary for aerospace Steve Turner agreed.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAirbus supports 110,000 jobs in the UK,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIts stark warnings of the uncertainty facing the aerospace industry cannot be dismissed by ministers and \u00e2\u20ac\u0098hard Brexiteers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. It would be a betrayal of Airbus workers, their families and the tens of thousands workers in the wider supply chain if the government failed to secure frictionless trade and access to the customs union and single market.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTheresa May and her government need to provide Brexit certainty if the UK is to remain at the cutting edge of innovation and a world leader in aerospace,” he added.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWorkers will be increasingly worried about their jobs and their futures. Unite will continue to defend their interests and their livelihoods. We will be in close dialogue with Airbus and continue to put pressure on the government to secure jobs and the future of the UK aerospace industry.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The aerospace industry in the UK is among the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest and most high-tech sectors \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in fact, British aerospace is the largest in Europe, second only to the US, with a global market share of more than 6 per cent.   In 2017, aerospace employed 120,000 people in the UK and the sector is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[519,859,486,624],"wps_subtitle":"Hard Brexit threatens one of UK's largest sectors ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15436"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26113,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15436\/revisions\/26113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}