Manufacturing giants suspend production across East Midlands

Toyota has said that it is stopping production at its UK plants – including its factory at Burnaston in Derbyshire.

Together with a similar factory in Deeside, the two facilities employ 3,000 people. Staff are to be put omn paid leave and will stop work after they finish their shift today, according to the BBC. They are not expected to return for at least the next two weeks. and remain inactive until further notice, a period that is expected to last for at least the next two weeks.

The move it thought to be down to the Covid-19 outbreak which is disrupting supply chains.

Meanwhile, JCB has halted production at its Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham plants for the rest of this week and the whole of next.

All workers affected will be paid in full during the period, while office staff will continue to be asked to turn up for work.

Chief executive Graeme Macdonald said: “These measures are unprecedented in the history of JCB but are absolutely necessary to protect the business.

“As we continue to deal with the health implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become more challenging to maintain business continuity in this volatile economic climate.

“JCB is a global exporter and worldwide demand for our products has dropped sharply as customers cancel orders and defer deliveries.

“This is not just a UK issue, it is worldwide and with countries like France, Spain and Italy going into lock-down, those key markets for construction equipment disappear overnight.

“In light of this fast-changing situation, we need to re-plan our production and, as a result, manufacturing at all UK factories will cease for the rest of this week and all of next week.

“This will allow us to take stock of the situation, re-plan our order book, prioritise products that are definitely required by customers, and ensure parts and components are reassigned to support the production of these products.”