55 more jobs lost at JCB plants

Wrexham is one of seven regions affected across the UK

Construction equipment company JCB is to cut another 55 posts at its plants in Wrexham by the end of the year.

Around 100 staff have already lost their jobs at the town's two factories in the last 12 months.

This latest round of redundancies will see the firm shed almost 400 positions at its 11 plants across the UK.

JCB has said the figure would be even higher if staff had not agreed last month to a shorter working week to reduce the impact of job losses.

The Staffordshire-based company announced 400 job losses overall in the UK on Thursday.

JCB's chief executive, Matthew Taylor, said: "Our employees voted last month to save 332 of their colleagues' jobs which was commendable."

Made redundant

The news comes as a major blow to our membership after what I class as a tremendous show of collective unity

Gordon Richardson, GMB union

"In turn JCB is now supporting their decision as much as possible by retaining 336 people who ordinarily would have been made redundant.

"All job losses are regrettable but we have jointly saved 668 jobs from more than 1,240 that would otherwise have been at risk."

Production at all UK factories will be reduced by a third till the end of the year, and through the first quarter of 2009.

The company has said current activity levels are at "an unprecedented low", but has chosen to retain some staff who would have been at risk of redundancy in anticipation of an upturn in orders in Spring 2009.

Major Blow

The Wrexham job losses will affect shop floor and staff posts at the axel and gearbox factories on the town's industrial estate.

There will now be a 30 day consultation period with the unions.

Gordon Richardson, a GMB union spokesman said:

"The news comes as a major blow to our membership after what I class as a tremendous show of collective unity by all, to reduce our working week to 34 hours, which was by no means an easy decision.

"Unfortunately more of our members will lose their jobs than was originally expected."