JCB has extended the halt in production in their 9 U.K. factories until the end of April, at the earliest, as a result of the coronavirus affecting global demand for their products.
The plants in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham closed on March 18th with a plan to re-open on March 30th, as reported by us here.
Extended shutdown
When the plants were initially shut down, only shop floor employees were affected by the move and were paid in full during this period, while office staff continued to work a 39-hour week from home.
News of the extended shutdown was released on Wednesday (March 25th). This extended shutdown will mean the vast majority of JCB’s 6,500 staff will be asked to stop working until the end of this period.
JCB has stated that during this period, all affected JCB employees will be paid 80% of their basic pay and senior directors will not be taking a salary from the company until further notice.
JCB CEO, Graham McDonald, commented: “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.”
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
The construction equipment manufacturer intends to make an application to the U.K. government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help offset the cost of its support of employees during this period.
The Government scheme pays 80% of an employee’s salary up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. In devising its scheme, JCB has set no cap and will pay 80% of each affected employee’s pay.
