UK risks losing its dominance in Airbus wing production

Bloomberg

Britain’s five-decade dominance of wing construction for Airbus SE jets is under threat from rival countries playing up the uncertainties surrounding Brexit to pitch for a share of the high-value, manufacturing work.
Airbus has been approached by at least seven governments looking to poach future wing production after the company raised concerns about Britain quitting the European Union, stirring fears at the planemaker’s UK unit that it may see an erosion of its leading role, according to people familiar with the matter.
As Airbus assesses plans for its next A320 narrowbody, it has been courted by EU members France, Germany and Spain, as well as the US and China, where it has assembly lines, and even Mexico and South Korea, according to the people, who asked not to be named as the approaches weren’t public.
Airbus executives have hinted for months that the UK’s stranglehold on wing manufacturing, in place since the planemaker’s inception in 1970, isn’t guaranteed. Brexit further complicates things by threatening to add costs and complexity just as countries worldwide step up pressure on the company to win a greater share of production.
“Our first commitment is not to any particular nation,” Enders told a gathering of British aerospace and defense executives. “It is first and foremost to the global competitiveness of the company and our industry.” Airbus declined further comment.
While British PM Theresa May has sought to secure a deal that maintains strong ties to the EU once Britain leaves the bloc next year, political infighting has hindered progress in the negotiations. The uncertainty has caused companies from banks to automakers to reassess their UK investment plans.
As Brexit negotiations progress, the UK “will continue to work closely with aerospace companies to ensure they can continue to benefit from a frictionless trading environment,” the Department for Business.
The British government provides financial support for Airbus wing development, and the UK is home to 15,000 of the company’s workers, or more than 10 percent of its overall staff. Airbus says its wing factory in the Welsh city of Broughton, a centre of global aviation, is one of its most productive. A second site in Filton, in southwest England, is mainly responsible for wing design.
“I’m sure the Germans would like more wing work, as would the French, as would the Spanish,” said Mark Tami, the opposition Labour Party lawmaker who represents the area that
includes the plant. “This is a message we need the UK government to understand.”
Wings are the most complex part of an aircraft, which is why the UK has guarded its expertise in that field, drawing the envy of other sites in the Airbus organism. The German government has complained in the past of not getting its fair share of work on key programs like the A350, and underpinned its protest by withholding some loans.
Airbus is increasing output at its plant in Tianjin, China, where it does some work on wings and assembles about four narrow-body jets a month.