Digger maker JCB said up to 950 jobs are at risk after demand for its machines halved due to the coronavirus shutdown. The company has written to staff to say jobs are under threat at its 10 plants in Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Wrexham in north Wales. A 45-day consultation period with staff will begin on Monday. About 500 Guidant agency employees, who work at JCB’s UK sites, are also being let go. JCB said the jobs were at risk “as a result of the severe disruption caused to JCB’s business by the Covid-19 crisis, which will see annual production halved”. Graeme Macdonald, JCB’s chief executive, said the business climate meant the company “had no choice but to take difficult decisions to adapt to this new economic reality”. “JCB has had to act quickly for the long-term survival of the business,” he said. “In 2020 we had planned to sell and produce over 100,000 machines. With so much global uncertainty, that figure right now is looking more like 50,000 machines. “As a result, we have no choice but to align our cost base to demand for the rest of the year. No business could have anticipated the scale of the Covid-19 crisis and its economic consequences. It is deeply regrettable that we have had to take these steps to restructure the business and that it will have an impact on so many people.” JCB employs about 6,700 staff in the UK, either directly or through agencies. The majority of its employees are currently furloughed until the end of May, after production stopped in March when the country went into lockdown. The chancellor announced this week that the furlough scheme would be extended until the end of October, but from August, employers will have to contribute a share of their furloughed workers’ pay. Macdonald added: “The government’s taxpayer-funded job retention scheme, which was a temporary measure that has seen most UK employees furloughed since the beginning of April, was never going to be capable of sustaining employment at companies having to face such reduced levels of demand.” The family company is chaired by Lord Bamford, the billionaire Tory donor. The company was founded by his father, Joseph Cyril Bamford, in 1945 in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. Around 85% of its products are exported. Commenting on the announcement, Unite’s assistant general secretary for manufacturing, Steve Turner said: “JCB is preparing to throw 1,500 workers under the bus just as the government asks employers to pay their fair share towards protecting jobs and keeping the heads of loyal workers above water.”