Airbus’s chief operating officer has warned a UK parliamentary committee of the risks of disrupting the airframer’s strategic model, during a session on the UK’s future with the European Union.
Tom Williams outlined to the treasury committee his concerns over potential complications – such as customs regulations and restrictions on “movement of talent” – arising from the UK’s exit from European Union membership.
“If I have a problem on the final assembly line in Germany or France, I could call the [wing] plant in Broughton and get 20 mechanics sent to Toulouse first thing tomorrow morning, with toolboxes to fix the problem,” he said. “I don’t have to wait 90 days for a visa.”
He stressed that Airbus was “still highly committed” to the UK, because it serves as an integral part of the manufacturer, but that any macro-economic changes or “blockage” to its operations could result in a rethink.
“If that starts to change, it won’t change our decision day-by-day,” he said. “But it could in the longer term.”
Williams told the committee on 24 January that Airbus was the reason that Europe was able to compete effectively with the USA in the aerospace sector and that, if Airbus did not exist, “we’d have to create it”.
He added that a failure to maintain a seamless operation for Airbus’s UK division would be “a really big concern for us”.
“I am sure there would be many people in [Boeing’s industrial base of] Seattle and in Washington that would be more than delighted to see this scenario played out, because they will take every opportunity to try undermine the success of Airbus,” he stated.
"I take the view that whatever is being decided in Washington will also be done, very much, with what is good for Seattle. So we are entering into a dangerous phase."
Williams admitted that, while the UK had strong capabilities in manufacturing wings and engines for commercial aircraft, it was weaker in other areas – such as fuselage and avionics production.
“I think there are many parts of an aircraft we’re not the best at,” he said and cautioned against a committee query about whether the UK would be able to return to manufacturing entire airframes.
“We could not compete worldwide without the system that is Airbus,” said Williams, pointing out that European industries held only 11% of the world aerospace market before Airbus was established.
“Americans would love to get back to that model,” he told the committee. “We mess around with [the Airbus] model at our extreme risk.
“For me, it would be extremely naïve to think we could go back to recreate an industry [in the UK] for which the barriers to entry, with the technology of today, are enormous.”
Source: Cirium Dashboard
