JCB staff vote for shorter week

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JCB staff in Wrexham have accepted a shorter working week to try and save 500 jobs which were under threat across the UK.

The GMB union said JCB shop floor workers in the UK had accepted a 34-hour week by a two-thirds majority and it would help safeguard about 350 jobs.

The firm's two Wrexham plants employ about 520 people, and more than 50 staff have already been made redundant.

JCB said the new working schedule would start next month.

Wrexham is one of seven different plants employing 2,500 staff affected by the decision.

The company, which has 11 factories across the UK, has said it needed to reduce output across the UK by 19% "to align its production with current demand".

'Tremendous unity'

JCB chief executive officer Matthew Taylor said: "The ballot result shows the tremendous unity amongst the JCB workforce and a great team spirit, which I applaud.

"They have looked after the needs of one another rather than the needs of the individual and that is to be commended."

About 430 jobs have already gone across the UK in recent months.

The firm said last week that GMB members would vote either to agree to about 500 redundancies which would realign production to demand, or to agree to a shorter working week which would reduce redundancies by about two thirds.

Speaking after the result of the ballot, the GMB said it hoped office staff would follow the lead of shop floor workers with a reduction in hours.

It said the Joint Shop Stewards' Committee was pleased with the outcome.

The company said it was pleased with the vote "particularly as it will lead to a reduced number of redundancies and preserve our skills base for when the markets improve".

It added short-time working would begin at JCB's UK production facilities at the start of November for a minimum of six months.