Schaeffler concerned over future of Brexit; closes UK plants

German automotive supplier Schaeffler will shut two factories in Britain as part of changes prompted partly by Britain's planned exit from the European Union, it said on Tuesday.

The ball bearings maker said its factories in Plymouth and Llanelli, Wales, would be shut down in the medium term, with production shifting to Germany, China, South Korea and the United States.

Schaeffler, which employs 92,000 people, said the plan follows a review of its global production network which took into account future supply and demand, economic conditions, and decisions being made by carmakers.

"Brexit is clearly not the single decisive factor behind our decision-making for the UK market, but the need to plan for various complex scenarios has brought forward the timing," Juergen Ziegler, Schaeffler's manager responsible for Europe, said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies.)