PARIS (Reuters) - Britain risks losing clout in the aerospace industry, one of its largest skilled employers, due to concerns over its departure from the European Union, a corporate overhaul at Airbus and a new Franco-German push on defense, industry insiders say. <\/p>\n
Initiatives from a new continental combat jet to a decision by Airbus (AIR.PA) to downgrade its UK representation, as well as the redeployment of some research projects, have left the $90-billion UK sector feeling increasingly sidelined. <\/p>\n
France and Germany last week announced plans for a joint fighter, catching many in Britain off guard. <\/p>\n
Though chiefly designed to rejuvenate the Paris-Berlin axis, the move has highlighted questions over Britain's place in the European powerhouse after Brexit and left its biggest defense firm BAE Systems (BAES.L) maneuvering for a place. <\/p>\n
\"Everyone is now simply acting on the basis that Brexit has happened, and let's get on with life,\" said former French security adviser Francois Heisbourg, chairman of think-tank IISS. <\/p>\n
The move coincides with plans by Franco-German-led Airbus to shake up its UK management. <\/p>\n
Airbus Group UK President Paul Kahn is leaving as part of wider plans to shed management layers, Airbus said this week. <\/p>\n
Government affairs chief Katherine Bennett will run the Toulouse-based company's UK arm as senior vice president. <\/p>\n
Officially, the changes are nothing to do with Brexit. A top executive in Spain is also leaving the slimmed-down firm. <\/p>\n
But the four-nation giant is aware of the intense focus on Britain's role in flagship European ventures, while Airbus remains represented at more senior levels in France and Germany. <\/p>\n
\"You couldn't say there is no link to Brexit,\" a person familiar with the process said. <\/p>\n
The industry's ADS lobby, of which Kahn remains president, says aerospace and defense support 363,000 direct jobs in Britain and has warned against a 'hard Brexit' that could see trade tariffs and restrictions on movements of workers. <\/p>\n
Airbus alone employs 12,000 in Britain where it builds wings for jetliners and campaigned to keep the country in the EU. <\/p>\n
Although Bennett will report directly to CEO Tom Enders, Kahn's departure after three years deprives Britain of a strong voice inside Europe's largest aerospace group, insiders said. <\/p>\n
The reshaping of Airbus's UK presence does not end there. <\/p>\n
Industry sources say civil planemaking operations chief Tom Williams is unlikely to be replaced when he eventually retires, leaving a significant gap in the firm's UK profile. <\/p>\n
Williams, who turns 65 on Friday, is Airbus's \"national representative\" to Britain on key matters and has warned the country is entering a \"dangerous phase\" over Brexit. No departure date has been set for one of Britain's top industrial managers. <\/p>\n
Airbus declined to comment. <\/p>\n
In the long term, Britain faces competition for wings production when design starts on the next generation of Airbus jets next decade. Germany and Spain both want the work. <\/p>\n
For now, the chill toward Britain is felt mainly though a drip feed of small changes, though these collectively represent what one insider called an \"insidious\" threat to UK relevance. <\/p>\n
Britain will have less responsibility for Europe's Galileo satellite program. Some R&D work has been removed from British universities. And plans for a small but symbolic \"Cyber Lab\" at Airbus in Britain have been shelved. <\/p>\n
\"You are less likely to see UK leadership of projects with continental content. There will still be UK content but more likely under French or German leadership,\" one source said. <\/p>\n
That partially reverses the trend of recent years with rotary wing research placed in Britain after Airbus recently won a major military services contract. <\/p>\n
Supporters say Britain remains attractive for investment, with public funding for new technologies and a weaker pound offsetting uncertainty over Brexit. <\/p>\n
Asked whether she feared a stronger Franco-German defense axis leaving Britain in the cold, Defence Procurement Minister Harriet Baldwin told Reuters: \"Far from it ... We are very happy with how things are going with our European friends and allies.\" <\/p>\n
Senior commentators are worried about the health of Britain's industrial base, however, especially if it fails to win a place in the planned Franco-German fighter program. <\/p>\n
\"...you have a certain critical mass of design and development engineers and if they are not fed with noble work they will dissipate over time,\" said defense and aerospace consultant Brian Burridge, ex-commander of UK forces in Iraq. <\/p>\n
He likened this to years of under-investment in nuclear power stations, which saw Britain turn to foreign partners. <\/p>\n
\"Just as we saw in our nuclear power-generation industry: if suddenly, for strategic reasons, you want to change your indigenous sovereign capability that would be very difficult.\" <\/p>\n
Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Mark Potter <\/p>\n
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UK sidelined as Europe looks beyond Brexit in aerospace - Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PARIS (Reuters) - Britain risks losing clout in the aerospace industry, one of its largest skilled employers, due to concerns over its departure from the European Union, a corporate overhaul at Airbus and a new Franco-German push on defense, industry insiders say. Initiatives from a new continental combat jet to a decision by Airbus (AIR.PA) to downgrade its UK representation, as well as the redeployment of some research projects, have left the $90-billion UK sector feeling increasingly sidelined. France and Germany last week announced plans for a joint fighter, catching many in Britain off guard Continue reading