Fight JCB’s 150 job cuts

Construction machinery firm JCB is carrying out a consultation with office workers after announcing 150 job cuts through voluntary redundancy and early retirement. The company has not ruled out further redundancies in all areas of the business

According to JCB CEO Graeme MacDonald, the global construction equipment market has taken a sudden and surprising nose dive in the last few weeks.

Eleven months ago JCB announced a huge £150 million expansion that would create new factories and 2,500 jobs. Now it is reviewing and delaying these investments.

The company says it has to cut some of its 6,500 UK workers to have a ‘viable business’ in the long term.

JCB has made a profit every year since its launch in 1945 – even during the 2008 economic crash. Recent years have seen record profits.

JCB is owned by multibillionaire Lord Bamford, who donates large sums to the Tories on a regular basis, including £1 million before the 2010 general election.

JCB is also constructing a £40 million golf course at its headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire.

After the crash thousands of skilled JCB workers were made redundant and thrown on the scrapheap. Now we face this prospect again.

JCB should be nationalised so all profits can be reinvested for public benefit, rather than fund lords and Tories.

A JCB worker