Amazon UK boss Doug Gurr warns Brexit could trigger "civil unrest"



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Amazon made a bleak prediction about Brexit at a closed-door meeting with the British government last Friday, according to the Times

Douglas Gurr, the director of Amazon UK , said at a meeting crushes the European Union without a trade agreement, it will trigger "civil unrest" in two weeks.

The meeting was convened by Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, and The Times said Gurr's comments "stunned those present," with some disagreeing with his badessment.

Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. The company told the Times: "Like any business, we consider a wide range of scenarios in planning discussions so that we are ready to continue serving the customers and small businesses that rely on Amazon, even though these scenarios are very improbable.

"This is not specific to one question – it's the way we plan a number of problems in the world."

What Brexit Could Mean for Amazon

Britain's chances of leaving the EU Negotiations with the bloc have intensified over the past two weeks as Prime Minister Theresa May fought to sell her vision of Brexit to his own party, which triggered a wave of resignations, including that of Boris Johnson, the former Foreign Minister.May always said that nothing was better than a bad deal, and Raab said this weekend that the UK was preparing preparations to leave the EU without a trade agreement.

This would mean that the country would pull out of Europe's trade terms or organization, which could create chaos with regard to the supply of food and medicine from Britain, as well as the ability of people to travel to Europe by plane.

Amazon has always said that he remains engaged in the UK after Brexit. Last month, Gurr said that Amazon would create 2,500 jobs in Britain this year, bringing its total workforce to 27,500. This includes 650 head office roles.

"The UK is a fantastic place to do business," he said at a news briefing, according to The Guardian. "We try to make sure that all the companies that work with us can continue to function effectively … We do not yet know exactly what the rules will be [on trading after Brexit] we will wait and see what happens and we will adapt as necessary."

The Amazon supply chain could be affected by a Brexit without trading and any decline in consumer spending would have a negative impact on the company. Amazon could also be well positioned, potentially benefiting from customers looking for cheaper goods.

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