Airbus could leave UK if no Brexit deal

LONDON, June 24 (AFP): Aviation giant Airbus has warned it could pull out of Britain if it leaves the European Union (EU) without a deal.
The company mounted pressure recently on Prime Minister Theresa May to make progress in negotiations with Brussels.
The European group, which directly employs nearly 15,000 people in Britain, warned that crashing out of the bloc would be "catastrophic" and force it to consider its investments.
"Put simply, a 'no deal' scenario directly threatens Airbus' future in the UK," said chief operating officer Tom Williams, almost two years since Britain voted to leave the EU.
May's government insists it must hold out the possibility of walking away as a negotiating tactic, but says it expects to get a deal before it exits the bloc on March 29, 2019.
"We have made significant progress towards agreeing a deep and special partnership with the EU to ensure trade remains as free and frictionless as possible, including in the aerospace sector," a spokeswoman said.
However, talks are stalled on the issue of the Irish border and Britain's indecision over the deal it wants.
EU leaders, who will meet May at a Brussels summit next week, have warned that time is running out.
"While Airbus understands that the political process must go on, as a responsible business we require immediate details on the pragmatic steps that should be taken to operate competitively," Williams said.
In a Brexit risk assessment, Airbus said leaving the EU's single market and customs union immediately with no agreed transition deal "would lead to severe disruption and interruption of UK production".
Delays and disruptions to its production could cost it up to one billion euros ($1.2 billion) a week in lost turnover and would be "catastrophic".