The cheers of the Brexiteers in response to some moderately encouraging post-referendum economic figures are suddenly starting to sound hollow.

Nissan, which operates in Sunderland one of Europe’s biggest and best car plants, has issued a rather stark warning.

Chief executive Carlos Ghosn says the car maker will defer decisions on whether to build new generations of its existing models until it knows whether or not it will face tariffs for exporting to the EU.

New generations of existing models, remember. Sunderland can probably kiss any brand new models goodbye. They’ll almost certainly be made in countries that haven’t chosen to shoot themselves in their economic feet.

You can’t blame Mr Ghosn for standing pat. It is true that the Sunderland plant is one of the most efficient and profitable in Europe owned by either Nissan or Renault, with which the Japanese firm holds a manufacturing alliance.

However, many of the 500,000 models the plant churns out every year are destined for EU markets. If accessing those markets suddenly gets more expensive, as will happen if tariffs are applied to Britain's exports to the EU, that plant will look a lot less efficient and profitable.

We’ve heard similar messages from other companies that make cars in Britain, such as Jaguar Land Rover and Ford, which has scaled back investment in its engine works at Brigend in Wales.

Cynics will at this point raise the issue of what else Mr Ghosn has had to say, namely that he might be prepared to rethink his plans if the Government is prepared to compensate Nissan for any tariffs it might face.

It does seem like a shakedown is afoot. But Brexiteers like the odious Liam Fox, Secretary of State for International Trade, have created the conditions for Mr Ghosn to be able to do that so they have only themselves to blame.

Mr Fox still appears to think that he can have his cake and eat it with the EU. Trade barriers hurt everyone, he said in a widely reported speech that is being seen as the harbinger of a hard Brexit in which Britain would leave the European single market as well as the EU.

Well yes, Liam, they do. But they’ll hurt the UK a lot more than they will hurt the EU once the UK is out. See above. And there are no compelling reasons for the EU to grant UK a sweetheart deal. Au contraire. If it does, others may be banging on its doors asking for the same, with Switzerland and Norway at the head of the queue.

EU leaders will also fear the prospect of others following the UK down its mad road, perhaps the Eastern European members of the Visegrad Group who aren’t overly fond of Brussels themselves.

Of course, we don’t currently face any trade barriers with Europe, and we have deals in place with large parts of the world thanks to our membership of the EU, deals which will all be lost as a result of the lunatic decision to quit.

If Nissan and its peers follow through with their warnings – and there is no reason to think that they are bluffing – jobs will be lost. Well-paid manufacturing jobs in economically deprived areas where jobs are hard to find.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled – leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: “Europe’s largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid £3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rue’s contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped £4m off of Flybe’s revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airline’s estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

You wonder whether Mr Fox has given any thought to what he might replace them with? More calls centres? You wonder whether the people of Sunderland and the other places that voted in favour of Brexit will be so pleased with their decisions after the redundancy notices have been posted.

It won’t just be car workers getting them. Those who work in industries servicing their employers will also be affected as will those employed at businesses that rely on their incomes. Then there are all the jobs that won't be created as business investment in this country falls off a cliff.