MORE than 100 agency workers at digger giant JCB have been laid off only two months after 200 other employees were let go.
The Advertiser understands the Rocester-based firm has released around 110 agency workers, blaming it on a softening in global demand.
Workers have revealed 61 jobs have gone from the Loadall unit at JCB World Headquarters (pictured) and another 50 were lost from other departments at the plant.
It is believed the workers were told in the morning and were made to stay until the end of their shift at 7pm.
One worker, who was hired through the Blue Arrow agency, said they were also annoyed their severance pay was being spread out over four weeks, meaning their could not sign on to the dole.
A JCB spokesman confirmed a number of agency employees had been released.
The spokesman said: “While JCB had a record first six months of the year, global demand has softened in the third quarter.
“Regrettably, that fall in demand has meant the release of agency employees as we align machine build rates with demand.” The news of the job losses comes after 200 agency workers were told they no longer had a job after the summer shutdown in July.
The workers were called to a meeting where they were told they were no longer needed and some left straight after while others waited to the end of their shift.
At the time JCB again put the job loses down to global uncertainty, saying although they had a strong start to the year, demand was softening in many parts of the world.
JCB took on the agency staff a week after announcing it had landed a major deal with the Ashtead Group worth £36 million.
This included an order for 550 machines from the UK arm of the company A-Plant worth £16 million alone.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that JCB currently employed around 6,300 people including more than 5,000 in Staffordshire after increasing its UK workforce by more than 850 people in the last year.
