Earlier this year, Stephen Phipson, the CEO of the manufacturer’s association, the EEF, said that the sector would succeed, but only if it worked together, sharing knowledge and experience.
A recent poll of manufacturers found they remained generally positive, with business confidence holding up and many of those questioned looking forward to the second half of the year. But many companies are becoming increasingly rattled by the prospect of the unknowable. Chief among them is Brexit and the uncertainty that currently surrounds the process of leaving the European Union.
It’s not just the economic environment that is proving challenging, but the political one as well.
That lack of clarity around what Brexit actually means, is starting to have an impact on the manufacturing sector – in particular in terms of business investment, which has slowed.
Most of UK business appears to be in a ‘wait and see’ pattern and in this special issue of New Electronics, in which we look at the current state of manufacturing, most would appear to be reasonably stoic – simply wanting the government to ‘get on with it’.
| “Many companies are becoming increasingly rattled by the prospect of the unknowable. Chief among them is Brexit and the uncertainty that surrounds the process of leaving the EU.” |
Last week at the Farnborough International Airshow, companies including Rolls-Royce and Airbus, warned of the dire consequences of a hard Brexit, while Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s biggest car manufacturer, has hinted that £80billion of planned UK investment could now be at risk.
It’s unlikely that come March 2019 those companies will close factories, whatever the conclusion of Brexit negotiations between London and Brussels they’ve all invested heavily in the UK. The big question will be whether they will continue to invest in the UK, or use the UK as a base to research and develop new products.
Many seem to forget that these companies are foreign-owned, with little allegiance to the UK. The chance of investment going elsewhere must be high.
Whatever the outcome of the next few weeks or months, business needs clarity. Continued uncertainty, both economically and politically, benefits nobody.
