Just last week, the bosses of the world's biggest tech based in the UK warned that Brexiting the European Union could undermine the country's tech sector and that it would mean businesses and their customers facing "significant and prolonged uncertainty and leaving the UK's investment sidelined. "
Now it looks like they may soon find out if their warning was right.
Of course, some tech executives were in favor of leaving: a March poll found that 70 percent wanted to stay in the EU—and only 15 percent saw leaving the EU as a solution.
Three-quarters of those who wanted to stay said that membership had made the UK more attractive to international investment and given their company a better deal on trade relations.
The UK’s tech industry is made up of different elements: the multinationals with their European headquarters here, the hundreds of thousands of tech workers, and the start-ups.
Each has its own priorities.
It’s possible to find some ways in which leaving the EU could have a positive impact for some in the tech industry: instead of relying on EU staff, UK companies would have to take training and retaining their best workers more seriously – and perhaps pay them more.
But it’s the downsides that are most apparent at the moment, although clearly much will depend on negotiations with the rest of Europe.
In the short term there is likely to be plenty of uncertainty, which company leaders have been concerned about – it could hurt investment at least until the terms of Brexit are clear.
If the pound continues to fall, then in the long term imports of hardware and software will become more expensive which could lead to further austerity. Importing and exporting to Europe may also become more difficult and more expensive.
Large companies may want to move their headquarters closer to their European customers.
Many UK tech companies are responding to the Brexit vote in the same general terms: they say they are disappointed, but that they will try and succeed anyway. That may be true, and it certainly shows bravery: but most would also say that they could do without the uncertainty that the coming years are likely to bring.
Much will depend on how the government manages the Brexit process in the coming months and years.
