500 jobs to go at JCB

JCB has announced a redundancy programme in response to falling orders. It will cut 500 manufacturing jobs from its UK workforce along with a proportional number of administrative positions.

The company said it has seen a rapid decline in orders and is cuttings its forecast production schedule by -20% for the remainder of the year. Matthew Taylor, JCB's Group CEO, said, "Our products are used mostly in the construction sector, which has been badly affected by the global credit crisis and rising raw material costs. Many JCB dealers around the world are experiencing lower sales rates because of reduced customer activity, mainly in the house building and commercial property sectors."

He added, "Some emerging markets, such as Russia, Brazil and the Middle East continue to grow and the agricultural sector remains quite strong, but this is only partially offsetting the impact of the downturn in the construction sector, particularly in more developed markets. These job losses are regrettable but absolutely necessary to ensure that JCB remains competitive and well-positioned to benefit from any market upturn. However, we do not expect to see a recovery until late 2009 at the earliest."