More than 100 jobs to go at Staffordshire's JCB
Digger giant JCB is cutting 150 jobs before Christmas, with the majority set to be lost in Staffordshire, it has been announced.
Bosses have blamed the downturn in the global construction equipment market.
The 'vast majority' of positions at risk are at the company's sites in Staffordshire, they say. JCB has eight plants in the country, at Cheadle, Rugeley, Uttoxeter and the company's headquarters site at Rocester.
It has not been announced how many jobs will go from Rugeley but JCB has previously revealed proposals to close the site as part of £150m expansion plans which will see a new 350,000 sq ft facility built in Beamhurst, Staffordshire.
A 45-day consultation with staff will be launched at the beginning of next month, with the jobs set to go by the middle of December.
Chief executive Graeme Macdonald said: "There is a growing consensus that a global economic slowdown could be starting and it is clear JCB's full year sales in 2014 will be less than anticipated.
"The outlook is unlikely to improve and consequently our cost base is being restructured to align overheads to reduced sales volumes, which will regrettably mean up to 150 staff redundancies."
They blame a 22 per cent drop in the Russian construction equipment market following the imposition of sanctions after the Ukraine crisis, coupled with a 20 per cent fall in the Latin American.
