JCB has announced it is extending the suspension of UK production until at least the end of April due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
The firm’s nine manufacturing plants in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham closed on March 18. At that stage, only shop floor employees were affected by the move and were paid in full, while office staff continued to work a 39-hour week from home.
JCB said the extended shutdown will mean that the vast majority of the manufacturer’s 6,500 workforce will 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.”
The company added that it intends to make an application to the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help offset the cost of its support of employees during this period.
