Unions start urgent talks as JCB says 950 jobs are under threat
UNION bosses have entered into urgent talks with JCB after it was announced that nearly 1,000 jobs are under threat at the Rocester-based digger firm.
The GMB Union, the trade union which represents JCB workers, has said that last week’s announcement that 950 workers are at risk of redundancy at its UK plants has been “devastating to everyone involved”.
Union bosses have vowed to fight any jobs losses at all costs. They have also vowed to fight for another 500 agency workers who have been told they are no longer needed by the firm.
The company has said that demand for its machines fell by half due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has resulted in the risk of job losses.
It said the lockdown has resulted in severe disruption to the business.
GMB organiser Stuart Harrison said: “This announcement is devastating to everyone involved.
“As the recognised union, GMB’S senior representatives have entered into urgent talks about the future of the business with management. “We will keep fighting to avoid job losses at all costs, for our members and their families.”
A 45-day consultation period will now be entered into with workers at risk of redundancy, which was due to start on Monday. Staffordshire County Council has also said it will do all it can to help the employees at risk.
Leader Philip Atkins said: “JCB is one of Staffordshire’s flagship companies and one of our major employers. This news is devastating for all employees concerned and their families.
“While we await the detail, we’ll do all we can, working with our partners such as Jobcentre Plus, the local enterprise partnership and our district and borough councils to ensure all the support is there at this difficult time.
“We recently set up our redundancy and recruitment triage service to help get people back into work or gain new skills as quickly as possible.
“The impact of coronavirus in such a short time on our businesses and communities is unprecedented. Businesses are having to make incredibly difficult decisions to maintain their long-term sustainability.
“Our priority as a county council is to protect and support our residents and businesses. We’re urging people to contact the Stoke-on-trent and Staffordshire Growth Hub for more information.”
Stoke-on-trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) chairman Alun Rogers said: “Our priority at the LEP is to support our businesses and communities.
“This is dreadful news for those employees affected and their families and they can be assured we will do all we can to support them at this difficult time.
“Since the crisis started, we have been working hard with our partners to put in place support initiatives such as our redundancy and recruitment triage service, as well as signposting people to central government and local authority schemes
“We know businesses across sectors are struggling, however these announcements still come as a shock to everyone affected.
“We would like to assure people that our task force is planning our recovery from this crisis and that we’re here to respond to concerns from employees and businesses.”
The company wrote to its UK employees on Friday, breaking the news which will impact staff at its 10 plants in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham. Its sites includes factories in Rocester, Uttoxeter and Foston.
Around 500 Guidant agency employees, who work at JCB’S UK sites, are also being “released from the business”, a spokesman for the firm added.
Many of JCB’S staff are currently furloughed until the end of May after production at UK factories stopped in March.
JCB chief executive Graeme Macdonald said the decision to restructure JCB’S business had been extremely tough but that the company “had no choice but to take difficult decisions to adapt to this new economic reality”.
He said in 2020 they had planned to sell more than 100,000 machines but now the figure was more like 50,000. It exports 85 per cent of everything it makes. JCB employs around 6,700 people in the UK, including agency workers.