Industrial equipment maker Caterpillar has agreed shorter hours for some of its workforce to stave off the threat of further redundancies.
Around 500 staff at the firm’s Desford plant in Leicestershire will work for 25.5 hours over three days in a week. They will be paid, however, for 30 hours. They are currently doing 34 hours over four days.
The change comes in on June 1.
“We are pleased that the constructive dialogue between employees, their representatives and Caterpillar’s leadership at Desford has led to this outcome,” a company spokesman said.
“While these actions are difficult, we must make decisions that are in the long-term interests of our business.”
The firm’s redundancies number almost 250 in the last eight months.
Photo credit: Adam Pniak
