Brexit 'prompts carmakers to look towards eastern Europe'

London - Moves by carmakers to locate operations in eastern Europe have sped up in the wake of June’s Brexit vote, according to a global recruitment organisation.

DHR International said the drift towards former eastern bloc territories, where the cost of skilled staff was up to 40 percent lower than in the UK, had accelerated since the country voted to leave the EU in a 23 June referendum.

The firm said Brexit “raises questions over whether UK R&D centres will find that new immigration rules hamper their ability to attract the best global talent”, the Guardian reported.

Jaguar Land Rover is one of a number of carmakers planning plant openings in eastern Europe, as companies looked to broaden their connections with the region. The firm has a new factory opening in Slovakia in 2018.

Frank Smeekes, DHR’s managing partner in Europe, told the Guardian: “Brexit has intensified the drive toward moving knowledge-intensive automotive roles east.

“For some industry players, the UK now makes less sense as a long-term base for their high-level European operations, if they can make the knowledge-cost ratio stack up elsewhere.”