Michael Bloomberg predicts Brexit will be 'very painful' and will 'hurt industries'

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Michael Bloomberg attend the opening of a new arcade at Bloomberg's new European headquarters in the City of London
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Michael Bloomberg attend the opening of a new arcade at Bloomberg's new European headquarters in the City of London Credit: PA

Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire media mogul, has reportedly predicted that Brexit will be "difficult" and "very painful", warning that companies will move operations out of London. 

The former mayor of New York was also quoted as saying some of his employees had expressed fears about living in the US and Britain in the current political climate.

Mr Bloomberg, who was in London on Tuesday to open a new European headquarters for the his financial media company in the City, made the comments at a technology conference in Boston a fortnight ago, the Guardian reported. 

“It is really hard to understand why a country that was doing so well wanted to ruin it,” Mr Bloomberg was quoted as saying about Brexit.

“It was not a smart thing to do and getting out of it is going to be very difficult and is going to be very painful. It will hurt industries. People are already taking space in other cities over there [Europe], us included.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias, Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg and architect Norman Foster pose together at the launch of Bloomberg's new European Headquarters in the City of London 
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias, Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg and architect Norman Foster pose together at the launch of Bloomberg's new European Headquarters in the City of London  Credit: AFP

Mr Bloomberg's comments emerged in the same week that business leaders called for a Brexit transition deal to be agreed "as soon as possible" as firms were preparing to make "serious decisions" with consequences for jobs and investment early next year.

With more than 4,000 employees in the UK, London is a key hub for the New York-based firm. But Mr Bloomberg said the current debate about immigration iswas making some staff uneasy about living in the capital. 

“One of the things that is hurting us both in the United States and in the UK is that we have employees, not a lot but some, who are starting to say: ‘I don’t want to work here – can we transfer to some place else? This country doesn’t like immigrants',” Mr Bloomberg reportedly said.

“All this talk in Washington – words have consequences. Whether we change the immigration laws or not, there is general feeling around the world that America is no longer an open, welcoming place and a lot of people don’t want to go there, and the same thing is happening in the UK because of Brexit.”

Mr Bloomberg, who has been a critic of Donald Trump, also took a swipe at the President as he lambasted Britain's decision to leave the EU.

“I did say that I thought it was the single stupidest thing any country has ever done but then we Trumped it.”

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