Caterpillar stops for four weeks

The firm laid off more than 300 staff at the plant last summer

Construction industry firm Caterpillar is stopping production at its Leicestershire plant for four weeks due to a big drop in orders.

In June the firm laid off 320 temporary staff at its Building Construction Products (BCP) division at Desford.

On Monday Caterpillar said production would be halted there for two weeks in February and two weeks in March.

Staff on full pay will undergo various training courses as well as charitable and community-based activities.

In a statement the company said the planned non-production periods were "a result of the need to lower our production volumes to take account of the much-reduced demand for BCP machines".

It said: "Non-production periods at BCP Leicester, as a result of unfavourable market conditions, have not happened in recent times."