Staffordshire County council responds to JCB job cuts

Staffordshire county council has responded to the news that JCB is cutting around 1,500 across the UK

Staffordshire County Council leader Philip Atkins said:

“JCB is one of Staffordshire’s flagship companies and one of our major employers. This news is devastating for all employees concerned and their families. While we await the detail, we will do all we can, working with our partners such as Jobcentre Plus, the local enterprise partnership and our district and borough councils to ensure all the support is there at this difficult time. We recently set up our redundancy and recruitment triage service to help get people back into work or gain new skills as quickly as possible.

“The impact of coronavirus in such a short time on our businesses and communities is unprecedented. Businesses are having to make incredibly difficult decisions to maintain their long-term sustainability. Our priority as a county council is to protect and support our residents and businesses. We’re urging people to contact the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Growth Hub for more information.”

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership chairman Alun Rogers said:

“Our priority at the LEP is to support our businesses and communities. This is dreadful news for those employees affected and their families and they can be assured we will do all we can to support them at this difficult time.

“Since the current crisis started, we have been working hard with our partners to put in place support initiatives such as our redundancy and recruitment triage service as well as signposting people to central government and local authority schemes.

“We know that businesses across sectors are struggling through this time, however these announcements still come as a shock to everyone affected. We would like to assure people that our task force is planning our recovery from this crisis and that we are here to respond to concerns from employees and businesses.”

People should visit: www.stokestaffsgrowthhub.co.uk or call 0300 111 8002.