Welsh wing-maker Airbus EU exit warning

The president of aerospace giant and Welsh wing-maker Airbus says the firm would reconsider UK investment if Britain left the European Union.

Paul Kahn said Britain must compete for international investment.

The company employs 6,000 people at its wing factory at Broughton, Flintshire, and a further 4,000 at Filton, Bristol.

The comments follow the head of JCB stating Britain should not fear an EU exit. It employs about 500 people at its Wrexham plant.

But speaking to the BBC, the Airbus president said the best way to guarantee continuing investment was "by remaining part of the EU".

'Leaner' EU

He said with a UK referendum on leaving the EU perhaps less than 18 months away, companies such as Airbus needed to be at the forefront of the debate.

"I believe that it is vital for a company such as Airbus to come out and make a stand in favour of Britain remaining in the European Union," he told the BBC.

He stressed if Britain were to leave the EU, the company would not suddenly close.

But he added: "If after an exit from the European Union, economic conditions in Britain were less favourable for business than in other parts of Europe, or beyond, would Airbus reconsider future investment in the United Kingdom? Yes, absolutely."

He said he was not "blindly supporting Britain's membership of the EU", adding: "I welcome the UK government's intentions to deliver positive and hoped-for reforms - which would create a leaner and more efficient EU."

Most wings from the Broughton plant are flown out on specially modified Beluga cargo planes

Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb, on a visit to JCB's Wrexham factory on Thursday, said it was a "really healthy thing that you are having senior business figures making the case for and against and thinking about different prospects for Britain's future".

He added they were all united on the "need for a reformed relationship" with the European Union, which he dubbed a "burdensome, intrusive, relationship" that "does need to change".

The minister has previously said that Welsh businesses are "huge winners" from being part of the EU.

Earlier, Chancellor George Osborne said in a speech to the CBI employers' group he wants the UK "to be in Europe, but not run by Europe".

Prime Minister David Cameron has promised a referendum on the UK's EU membership by the end of 2017, and the matter has been rising up the political and business agenda.