Staffordshire-based JCB is recruiting more than 400 additional agency workers as the company gears up for a predicted surge in production, the company announced yesterday. The market for construction equipment has rebounded sharply after the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the spring of last year, which halted production at JCB factories world-wide.

The company has confirmed it is recruiting workers to fill a variety of shopfloor assembly and welding roles, as well as a number of forklift truck drivers. In addition, JCB is offering permanent contracts to up to 300 existing agency staff, including welders, fabricators and CNC machinists.

In March 2020 the company’s orders dramatically dried up overnight when the Covid-19 pandemic took hold and while it was able to protect its shopfloor workforce, regrettably many other jobs were impacted and it has taken more than six months for the business to recover to production levels seen prior to the first coronavirus lockdown.

JCB chief operations officer Mark Turner said: “This year has started strongly and our forecasts predict a continued solid recovery, with strong demand from mainland Europe and North America.

“This means we are now in a position to recruit many more shopfloor colleagues and offer permanent JCB contracts to a large number of existing agency employees. After a tumultuous 12 months, this really is good news.”