Job losses: Rising Price of staying out of euro

12.00.00am GMT Mon 20th Jan 2003

Liberal Democrat Euro MP Andrew Duff has deplored the announcement by Jungheinrich, the German industrial truck maker, which it is to close its plant in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, with the loss of 180 jobs.

Andrew Duff said:

"This blow to Bedfordshire is regrettable further evidence that Britain is paying a mounting economic price for staying out of the euro. Unless and until the government pulls the trigger for a positive euro decision we should brace ourselves for more bad news."

The company has blamed Britain's reluctance to join the euro and the volatile exchange rate outside the common currency as the reasons for the closure. It will now be moving all its production to plants in Germany and France. Duff added:

"Britain is attracting less and less foreign investment in the EU. While our share has fallen from 28 percent at the launch of the euro project to just 5 per cent last year, Germany's share has risen from 9 per cent in 1998 to 18 per cent in 2002."

Having met regional representatives of the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF) on Friday at their Sandy HQ on Friday, Duff said:

"Many UK based manufacturers have already taken their investment decisions. In the light of the high cost and risk attached to sterling, employers are choosing to site their factories elsewhere in Europe. Eventually our design capacity will surely follow manufacturing, leaving the UK economy even worse off than we are already."