Huge JCB logistics operation heading for site near EMA
DIGGER giant JCB is set to move a warehouse out of Staffordshire and set up at Castle Donington to be closer to East Midlands Airport.
It means workers in the Potteries face an uncertain future with JCB set to close its major warehouse in Stoke-on-trent.
JCB currently operates out of its World Logistics site in Tunstall, and employs hundreds of staff.
The move would see it based at the SEGRO East Midlands Gateway logistics park, close to the airport.
Many of the Tunstall-based staff now face an uncertain future, with a potential commute of nearly 100 miles. According to documents, JCB intends to “exit” its current site by early 2025 ahead of the move to Castle Donington.
Logistics giant Maersk intends to maintain an office “within the Stokeon-trent area” after the move.
However, 200 warehouse and transport workers must now decide whether to commute to keep their jobs.
News of the Tunstall closure and move to Castle Donington was made to staff in briefings this week.
One worker told the Post’s sister paper, the Stoke Sentinel: “The workers have been told their jobs will effectively be gone by the end of the year. The closure will affect 150 to 200 shop-floor workers. Office workers will be somewhat protected.” A second said: “We’ve all lost our jobs. Everyone is gutted.”
Maersk is the lead logistics provider for the Tunstall warehouse.
The site has been open for a decade and its staff worked for DHL before being transferred to Unipart.
The affected warehouse workers will now transfer to Maersk – with transport staff staying with Unipart.
A JCB spokesman said: “The JCB World Logistics facility was commissioned in 2014 as the company’s main central logistics hub. Since then, the number of machines manufactured by JCB has almost doubled and the facility has been at full capacity for five years.
“Today it can only store 50 per cent of JCB inbound container freight prior to distribution to the company’s UK factories. This has forced JCB to introduce multiple locations for parts storage, which is not sustainable in the long- term.”
The spokesman said the firm is “working closely” with employees and the GMB union to discuss their futures and “redeployment opportunities”.