Some of the biggest names in global business and finance have thrown their weight behind the campaign to keep Britain in the European Union.
Ford (F), GE (GE), IBM (IBM, Tech30) and Goldman Sachs (GS), as well as U.K. engineering icon Rolls Royce (RYCEY) and fashion label Burberry (BBRYF) signed an open letter declaring that Brexit would be bad for Britain.
“Business needs unrestricted access to the European market of 500 million people in order to continue to grow, invest and create jobs,” the companies said in the letter to The Times newspaper.
Other big names to declare that Britain is better off inside the bloc include HSBC (HSBC), BP (BP) and Siemens (SIEGY).
The letter was signed by more than a third of all companies listed on the FTSE 100, London’s main stock market index, and dozens of other smaller firms. Together, they employ more than one million people across the U.K.
“We believe that leaving the EU would deter investment and threaten jobs. It would put the economy at risk,” they said.
