The company that runs Rosyth dockyard intervened in the referendum debate yesterday as Scottish Engineering – an industry body representing almost 400 firms – urged its members to reject independence.
Babcock told union members it feared “additional risk and uncertainty” if voters say Yes on September 18.
Meanwhile, real estate service Savills reported that buyers from London and the south of England were thinking twice about moving to Scotland.
Babcock’s view, made public by the Rosyth Dockyard Industrial Joint Council, included concerns about it being able to carry out Royal Navy work.
It noted the Scottish Government’s plan to remodel Rosyth and Faslane, but said it remained unclear whether workloads would smaller or larger than now.
The joint council, in a statement to workers, said it shared the company’s concerns.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “As set out in Scotland’s Future, we will consider options for reinstating Rosyth as a supporting naval base, operating alongside its current industrial uses.
“That would include the potential for the refitting work currently carried out at the site to continue, and for future work of that type which may be agreed with the Royal Navy and the Scottish Government in support of an independent Scotland’s naval fleet.”
Scottish Engineering revealed its position on independence after a year-long study based on responses from about a third of its membership.
Chief executive Bryan Buchan said: “The majority of those responding indicated that, in their opinion, independence would not be in the interests of the manufacturing engineering industry in Scotland.”
Faisal Choudhry, of Savills, said uncertainty surrounding the referendum was not what the Scottish housing market needed. “England’s prime market is improving at a much faster rate than in Scotland, and Scottish sellers are benefiting from wealth rippling north of the border.”