Quarter of German businesses polled planning to cut jobs in the UK

One in four German companies with operations in the UK plan to cut jobs following the vote to leave the EU, according to a new survey by the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).

One in three of these German companies also now plan to invest less in the UK.

The DIHK contacted 5,672 German businesses, of which 737 had branches in the UK, to seek their opinion on Brexit in the days following the referendum. 

Commenting on the report, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“These are deeply worrying findings. Working people must not pay the price for Brexit with their jobs and livelihoods.

“The government urgently needs to come up with an action plan to re-assure foreign investors and companies that Britain is still open for business.

“Now isn’t the time for ministers to sit on their hands. They need to fast-track spending on key infrastructure projects like high-speed rail and the third runway at Heathrow.” 

NOTES TO EDITORS: 
- The TUC has published a plan to keep the economy moving, including an urgent programme of public investment: The full TUC report ‘Working people must not pay the price for the vote to leave the EU: an action plan to protect the economy, jobs and workers’ rights’ can be found at: http://bit.ly/29oGcVV 
- The DIHK poll can be found here, in German. Jobs figures on page 5 (second graph), investment figures on page 4 (second graph): http://bit.ly/29C8I5I 
- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @The_TUC and follow the TUC press team @tucnews