Osborne's 'huge regret' on npower jobs axe during Staffordshire JCB visit

Chancellor George Osborne has expressed 'huge regret' at the decision by energy giant npower to axe more than 1,000 jobs in Oldbury and Staffordshire.

But there was little he could offer those whose jobs are being transferred to India except retraining and the chance to compete with one of the 'thousands' of new jobs being created in the region by firms that were expanding.

He spoke during a visit to digger company JCB's Staffordshire headquarters to mark the company's announcement of 2,500 new jobs being created at two new factories in the county. JCB is moving cab-making operations out of its site in Rugeley to a bigger 350,000 sq ft factory to be built in Beamhurst, around 15 miles away. Rugeley's 400-strong workforce will be transferred to the new site once it is completed, in around two years' time. Another factory is being built in Cheadle, while production operations at JCB's headquarters in Rocester are also being expanded.

JCB is investing £150m to create 2,500 jobs by 2015. George Osborne said JCB's announcement was: "A vote of confidence by this company in the United Kingdom."

JCB's decision, which will bring some manufacturing work back to the UK from overseas, is in stark contrast to the move by npower to sack 1,400 UK office staff and 'off-shore' their jobs to Indian company Tata Consulting. Mr Osborne said: "We are in a global race. Big companies make decisions. I wish they had kept that operation in the UK.

"Every time any job is lost is a matter of huge regret. I am working as hard as I can to make sure that companies are seeing the UK as a place where they want to be.

"There are many many other companies that are growing and recruiting in the UK," said Mr Osborne.