The food and drink industry has issued a warning of significant disruption and economic damage if the government fails to stem the flow of EU nationals leaving the UK. Nearly a third of British food and drink businesses have had non-UK EU workers leave their employment since last summer’s Brexit vote, according to a survey of more than 600 businesses representing nearly a quarter of the food chain’s 4 million workforce. The latest warnings from the food industry came as British businesses faced their biggest challenge in recruiting skilled labour in a decade. High employment has combined with a fall in the value of the pound and uncertainty about the future for EU nationals in the UK to reduce the pool of available staff. It blamed the lack of clarity on the future for EU workers and a drop in the value of sterling.

Source: The Guardian August 23, 2017 22:52 UTC