'Hard' Brexit could see Philips quit British factory: CEO

Dutch electronics giant Philips warned today it may shift production out of Britain in the event of a "hard" Brexit, saying it was "deeply concerned about competitiveness" of its operations there.

The Amsterdam-based group employs some 1,500 people in Britain, most notably at its baby care products-for-export factory at Glemsford in Suffolk.

"I am deeply concerned about the competitiveness of our operations in the UK, especially our manufacturing operations," Philips chief executive Frans van Houten said.

"We estimate that the cost of the (Philips') exported products will increase substantially under any scenario that is not maintaining the single customs union," he said in a statement emailed to AFP.

Any changes in current free trade agreements, the single customs union and current EU product certifications "is a serious threat to the competitiveness of this factory," Van Houten added, saying "we need to do worst case scenario planning."