Get our money-saving tips and top offers direct to your inbox with the Mirror Money newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Construction company JCB has axed dozens more workers at its Rocester headquarters.

The firm made the decision to lay off 40 workers - just weeks after staff thought their jobs were safe.

In July, the Staffordshire-based company pulled the plug on 90 agency workers as schools broke up for the summer break.

Now more agency staff have been told they are no longer needed after returning from their holidays.

JCB - which has factories in Rocester, Cheadle and Uttoxeter - declined to comment on the latest job losses but blamed last month's decision on 'uncertainties in the global market'.

The company has ties to the Conservative party and Brexit - with its chairman Lord Bamford a prominent Leave supporter.

Ex-cabinet minister David Davis also joined the digging giant last year as an advisor for a salary of more than £3,000 per hour.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

One agency worker, who wished to remain anonymous, told StokeonTrentLive: "JCB told loads of employees to get your belongings, you're being laid off. With no prior warning, we were instantly escorted off site.

"Some of us were made to sit in the canteen for seven hours before being told we were being laid off. It's a sad day for us ex-employees and our families."

Another unamed JCB worker, who had been based at the company's Uttoxeter factory, said: "I arrived at 7.30am yesterday and was told to wait in the canteen because I was being moved to another part of the factory. They kept us waiting all day and at 3pm they came to tell us that they didn't need us anymore.

"On the day of the summer shutdown we were told that our jobs were safe and that we should come in as normal and now they've done this.

"I could have spent the last two-and-a-half weeks looking for another job."

In a statement released to StokeonTrentLive on July 23, a JCB spokesman: "Due to some uncertainties in the global economy with demand softening in certain parts of the world, JCB has today released 90 agency employees as we align machine build rates with anticipated demand."

JCB currently employs around 7,200 staff at its 11 plants in the UK with around 6,000 being in Staffordshire. Globally, the workforce numbers 15,000 people.