Brexit: German businesses based in the UK don’t want Britain to go
German businesses based in the UK have called on David Cameron to avoid a British exit from the European Union (EU).
In a letter to the Prime Minister, chancellor and business secretary, Bernd Atensttaedt, chairman of German Industry UK, which represents 100 chief executives of industrial companies in the UK with a German majority shareholding including car manufacturer BMW, chemicals giant BASF and energy supplier Npower, urged Britain not to leave the EU.
We would urge the Prime Minister to convince the British people of the financial, economic and social benefits of the EU for the UK and give a firm commitment to remain in the EU.
Atenstaedt said German business in the UK strongly agreed with David Cameron that the EU needs reform, especially reducing costs, bureaucracy and regulations.
His statement was based on a survey of 90 companies, which employ over 220,000 people in the UK and 4.4m globally.
After getting the “necessary reforms”, the UK government must keep the UK in the trading bloc.
We believe it is in the UK’s best interest to stay in the EU for the benefit of our employees and, ultimately, the general public.
In the UK, German companies have 500,000 British employees in 2,500 companies spread across energy, financial, manufacturing, retail, transport and other industries, according to German Industry UK.