Agency workers at the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Halewood have been let go just days before Christmas as other staff are set to have their shifts cut back in the new year.
Dozens of agency workers were called into a meeting at the Halewood site yesterday to be told their contracts would end today, with many believing they would be kept on until the spring at the least.
One worker, called Lee, told the ECHO it was "humiliating" to be told his job was ending just days before Christmas but that he would only be paid in January if he finished that same shift and the final one the following day.
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He said: "We were told in October that the agency contract would continue until April so it was a real shock for it to end just four days before Christmas. They told us our job would end the next day but then we had to go back to work and come in the next day in order to be paid in January."
Lee, who has worked on contracts at the Halewood plant for more than four years was hopeful of eventually getting a full-time position but is now desperately seeking work to provide for his four children - two of whom are under the age of 2.
He added: "It's really tough at Christmas, with young kids - I've already applied for a few positions but with places shutting down for a while I will be left short."
At the same time as the agency staff contacts are ending, permanent staff at the plant have been told that in January 2023 the number of shifts available will be cut back. While the Halewood plant currently operates two daily shifts, this will be cut back to just one from January 16.
Not only does this mean that workers will have less shifts available, but the single day shifts will also not attract a shift premium that is currently paid, representing a potentially significant loss to those staff members.
A message sent by the Halewood Leadership Team to staff said it currently foresees the plant operating on a single, day shift basis until the end of March 2023, with further updates to follow.
JLR is being hit hard by a global shortage of semi-conductors that is causing major problems for the automotive industry.
A spokesperson for the company said: "We continue to actively manage the operational patterns of our manufacturing plants whilst the industry experiences global semi-conductor supply chain disruption. Demand for our vehicles remains strong and we expect our performance to continue improving in the second half of our financial year, as new agreements with semiconductor partners take effect. "
“This year Jaguar Land Rover activated the second-year terms of its Pay and Conditions agreement with employees, which saw colleagues awarded an inflation-beating 12.6% basic pay increase to mitigate rising living costs.”
On the agency worker situation, the spokesperson added: "As is normal business practice Jaguar Land Rover regularly takes on temporary agency personnel to provide extra, flexible support when required. The requirement for a temporary workforce has now changed resulting in a reduction in agency assignments.”
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