BAE SYSTEMS, the biggest high tech employer in Lancashire and the UK, is in the news today. The Serious Fraud Office are saying they will ask the Attorney General to press charges with a punitive £1000 million fine for offering alleged incentives to obtain business in 2 EU and 2 African countries. This is on top of the talk of defence cuts that might injure BAE.
The Lib Dem spokesman is in for the kill, appearing on every broadcast, adamant that this is shocking behaviour although his opinion on other similar shocking behaviour isn’t widely known so maybe he doesn’t like the defence industry.
Just before an election will Gordon Brown fire these arrows into the heart of Britains largest manufacturing company or is he more pragmatic? BAE SYSTEMS has changed its management and is reported to be agreeable to some compromise.
In the last 10 years large British manufacturing businesses have nearly all disappeared or been taken over by foreign companies. An injured company with good products is prey.
Take the water companies they were said to be too fat so they got a windfall tax. Next thing they are owned by the French. How much will BAE be damaged, the shares went down 4% today which doesn’t seem too much although they had already fallen in the last few weeks. How much will this injure the company and who would be interested in taking the business or breaking it up?