On the shop floor, workers wonder what Brexit will bring

That anxiety over Brexit is palpable at Clarity-The Soap Co., a small business that is taking a financial hit as it dedicates more time and energy on understanding what could happen to its operations in case of a chaotic exit from the EU.

ByDANICA KIRKA Associated Press

January 18, 2019, 11:29 AM

In this photo taken on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, finished products by Clarity-The Soap Co. are displayed at their premises in London. Amid the rancor and political bickering that this week sent Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal down to the biggest defeat in history, people across the U.K. are worried about what the impasse in Parliament means for them and their families. Nowhere more than at Clarity-The Soap Co. which employs visually impaired adults who understand that jobs can be precious - and hard to come by. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
The Associated Press

LONDON -- It's an understatement to say that Michael O'Brien is worried about Brexit.

O'Brien is a supervisor at Clarity-The Soap Co., which employs visually impaired adults at a factory in London. O'Brien has a manner so easy it sounds as if he is talking about the weather rather than an issue that bitterly divides British society — the country's looming departure from the European Union

He says: "(This job) means everything to me. When I came here 4 ½ years ago, I was in a bad way. I got (laid off) from my last job, didn't think I'd work again. And I came here and it's given me a lifeline."

Amid the rancor surrounding Brexit, people across the U.K. are worried about what the impasse means for them and their families.