More jobs to go at digger plant

JCB says the credit crunch has contributed to a decline in orders

A further 58 jobs will go at the JCB factory in Wrexham, as part of 684 redundancies being made by the firm.

The cuts are in addition to the 164 positions lost last year at the plant, which employs about 400.

Company officials said a lack of available credit from banks meant its customers had been unable to afford new diggers and other equipment.

The GMB union said the redundancies at Wrexham were "disappointing" but not a "complete surprise".

The union's regional organiser Mark Jones said: "When we last met the company in November we thought that was it until at least the spring in terms of job losses.

"The company has obviously changed their mind."

He said the redundancies would cause "a lot of anxiety" for the Wrexham workforce, which produce axles and transmissions.

The job losses at Wrexham are part of a wider cost-cutting exercise which will see 684 positions axed.

In Staffordshire, the company's headquarters in Rocester and a number of plants will be affected, while jobs will also go at JCB Power Systems in Derbyshire.

JCB said its total business was down 75% on the same period last year.

In October, staff across the UK voted for a shorter, 34-hour week, which the company said had protected more than 300 employees from the threat of redundancy.

Much steeper

Chief executive Matthew Taylor said there had been no sign business would pick up soon for the company.

"The ongoing reluctance of the banks to provide credit is aggravating an economic downturn which is now becoming much steeper than we could have ever envisaged," he added.

"This unprecedented situation needs to be addressed with some urgency so that confidence and stability can return, otherwise irreparable damage will be caused to the UK's manufacturing industry."