The bosses of one-third of Britain’s biggest firms yesterday said that an exit from the EU would put the economy at risk and threaten jobs.
In a letter to the Times newspaper, bosses from big employers including telecoms group BT Group PLC, retailers Marks & Spencer Group PLC and Asda Stores Ltd and oil firm BP PLC joined forces to say that access to the EU’s single market enabled firms to grow and create jobs.
The letter, signed by 36 of the bosses of FTSE 100 companies, is likely to be seized on by British Prime Minister David Cameron, who is battling to persuade Britons to remain in the 28-member bloc in a June 23 referendum.
On Monday, the British pound posted its biggest one-day loss in almost six years on concerns that Britain could vote to leave the bloc after influential London Mayor Boris Johnson said he would campaign for a British exit, or Brexit.
“Business needs unrestricted access to the European market of 500 million people in order to continue to grow, invest and create jobs,” the letter signed by almost 200 business leaders said. “We believe that leaving the EU would deter investment, threaten jobs and put the economy at risk. Britain will be stronger, safer and better off remaining a member of the EU.”
Those signing the letter included the chief executives or chairman of 36 FTSE 100 companies.
However, many large firms opted not to sign the letter, preferring instead to stay neutral in the highly charged debate.
The move, organized by the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign, with the support of Cameron’s Downing Street office, echoes similar moves made by big business in the run up to the 2014 Scotland independence referendum, which helped to keep Scots in the UK.
In related developments, ING Groep NV chief executive officer Ralph Hamers said the Dutch lender would probably follow other major banks in reducing its London staffing levels if the UK exited.
“If some of the mega banks, the markets banks, leave London, we will go with the flow,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “Either the circus of the financial markets is located in London or it’s going to be somewhere else.”
Hamers becomes the latest senior financier to warn that Brexit would threaten London’s status as a global business hub.
HSBC Holdings PLC CEO Stuart Gulliver on Monday said he would probably relocate about 1,000 investment bankers to Paris if a June 23 referendum resulted in the UK leaving the bloc.
Britain quitting would be “bad news for the EU, bad news for business,” Hamers said.
JPMorgan Chase & Co has warned financial-services firms from banks to insurers could pull jobs out of the UK if Britain fails to keep so-called passporting arrangements with the EU in the event of Brexit.
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