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Brexit – Ways Manufacturing Companies are Continuing to Grow

Brexit - Ways Manufacturing Companies are Continuing to Grow

Brexit – Ways Manufacturing Companies are Continuing to Grow : As the results were read out on June 24th, a buzz of uncertainty spread around those managing manufacturing companies and how the decision to leave the EU would impact business.

Would the changes make a significant impact on import tax paid for products, would foreign workers leave and cause an employment issue? No one knew for sure. However, fast forward ten months and the situation isn’t as bleak as many may have initially anticipated.

In fact, factory outputs increased by 0.6 per cent in September 2016 – a significant amount more than the 0.4 per cent economists predicted after the Brexit announcement. However, some industries have seen a lapse in growth; oil and gas specifically where output dropped by 3.8 per cent.

A third of the UK’s manufacturing firms are reportedly considering leaving the UK amid uncertainty in the market and the value of the pound. Article 50 has, of course, not been triggered yet but the growth we have so far been witnessing in the industry could lapse once this goes ahead and specifics are outlined by Theresa May and the Tory government.

These companies are planning the move to countries such as China and India, where labour and land is cheaper and they can greatly benefit from doing business there.

Until that time, it still remains that manufacturing companies are seeing growth. Instead of packing up and leaving perhaps the decision should be made to see how Brexit will play out first to ensure the UK economy does not stagnate or see an impact by a mass exodus.

The cost of moving location could impact a business more financially than remaining in the UK. But still, only 20 per cent of businesses believe that Brexit is something to be optimistic about.

For now, the small amount of growth still taking place in the manufacturing industry is proving lucrative for suppliers for factories and warehouses. After all, as long as factories remain open, equipment will still be required, high quality protective gloves like these from Brosch Direct and PPE are still necessary and the British companies that depend on the manufacturing industry are not being affected. Should the Brexit plans go sour, this will have a ripple effect across a huge number of industries not just manufacturing.

Manufacturing companies are growing as the demand for British exports increases, by 8 per cent in October 2016. This means the need for more staff, more products and space, increasing business’s presence and the manufacturing industry itself.

It’s important that recruitment is also sorted now. If foreign workers decide to leave Britain once Brexit is implemented and they discover that the benefits of living in the UK are revoked, manufacturing businesses need UK workers to fill roles.

We should enjoy this period of growth before the uncertainty ahead. Until Article 50 is in place we cannot determine how leaving the EU will affect major manufacturing companies in the UK.

Manufacturing & Engineering Magazine | The Home of Manufacturing Industry News

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