Workers at the JCB plant in Rochester, Staffordshire, England. Credit: Daniel LynchJCB says it has extended its production stoppage until the end of April at all of its United Kingdom manufacturing plants as COVID-19 coronavirus disruption is resulting in “an unprecedented reduction in global demand.”
The announcement involves its nine manufacturing plants in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham. The company, which stopped production at the plants on Mar. 18th, said at the time that shop floor employees affected by the move would be paid in full during this period.
The Mar. 25 news release says: The news of today’s extended shutdown will mean that the vast majority of JCB’s 6,500 workforce will now be asked to stop working until at least the end of April. During this period, all affected JCB employees will be paid 80% of their basic pay. Senior JCB Directors will not be taking a salary from the company until further notice.
JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald said: “These are certainly unprecedented times and none of us expected to find ourselves in this situation. In announcing that all those JCB colleagues asked not to work will receive 80% of their pay, we hope to remove any financial concerns that many people will undoubtedly have had.
JCB’s North American operations in the meantime have moved to “flexible work arrangements, a pause on outside visits and an overall focus on increased social distancing.” Also under evaluation is a reduction of hours at the Savannah manufacturing facility.
