Agri machinery giant JCB is cutting production and working hours at its factories due to the coronavirus's affect on China.
The UK firm is planning to reduce working hours from 39 hours to 34 from next week. The move will affect around 4,000 of its employees.
JCB said it faces a shortage of components from China due to the ongoing coronavirus situation, now named Covid-19.
Over 25 percent of JCB’s component suppliers in China remain closed because of the virus, which has killed nearly 1,500 people as of Friday (14 February).
It makes the machinery company the first major UK manufacturer to slash output because of Covid-19.
JCB chief operating officer, Mark Turner said the decision is 'very unfortunate', but 'absolutely necessary' to protect the business and skill base.
“Production in the UK has so far been unaffected by the situation in China,” he explained.
“However, more than 25% of JCB’s suppliers in China remain closed and those that have reopened are working at reduced capacity and are struggling to make shipments.
“It is therefore clear that the inbound supply of certain components from Chinese partners will be disrupted in the coming weeks as they seek to replenish their stocks.”
Mr Turner added: “This inevitably means we will not have the required amount of parts needed to build our forecast number of machines in the short-term.
“These measures will ensure that, while we will produce machines in lower than anticipated numbers, we will do so with the same number of employees, whose skills we will need to fulfil customers’ orders when the situation returns to normal.”
