JCB to close warehouse as 200 employees face uncertainty

Up to 200 workers are facing uncertainty amid JCB's plans to close a large warehouse. The company is planning to open a bigger site 49 miles away at East Midlands Gateway Logistics Park near to the M1 and East Midlands Airport.

JCB will 'exit' its World Logistics site off Lowlands Road, in Tunstall, by early 2025, a document seen by reporters at our sister site StokeonTrentLive has revealed. Logistics provider Maersk intends to retain an office 'within the Stoke-on-Trent area' following the move.

And some workers have said that they could lose their jobs because of the closure. One staff member told StokeonTrentLive: "The workers have been told their jobs will effectively be gone by the end of the year. The operation is being moved to a site near East Midlands Airport.

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"The closure will affect around 150 to 200 shop-floor workers. Office workers will be somewhat protected."

Staff must decide whether to commute to and from Derbyshire every day or lose their job, it has been alleged. A second worker said: "We've all lost our jobs. Everyone is gutted."

Maersk is the lead logistics provider for the Tunstall warehouse. The site has been open for a decade and its staff worked for DHL before being transferred to Unipart. The affected warehouse workers will now transfer to Maersk - with transport staff staying with Unipart.

Both groups will be subject to consultations ahead of the move. Unipart workers at the Rocester, Beamhurst and Cheadle JCB factories are unaffected by this week's announcement.

The Unipart briefing note states: "JCB has worked closely with Maersk to review its long-term logistics strategy. As I am sure you are aware, the World Logistics site has been at full capacity for some time and a decision has been taken that the site is no longer fit for purpose for JCB's long-term business strategy. This is a strategic business decision by JCB and in no way a reflection of the huge commitment, passion and hard work of this team."

A JCB spokesman said: "The JCB World Logistics facility was commissioned in 2014 as the company’s main central logistics hub. Since then, the number of machines manufactured by JCB has almost doubled and the facility has been at full capacity for the past five years. Today it can only store 50 per cent of JCB inbound container freight prior to distribution to the company’s UK factories. This has forced JCB to introduce multiple locations for parts storage, which is not sustainable in the long term.

"As a result, a larger facility is essential and a decision has been made to exit the JCB World Logistics warehouse in Stoke-on-Trent by early 2025 and transfer operations to a much larger single location at the East Midlands Gateway Logistics Park in Derby. This will consolidate multiple warehouse locations into one larger site and provide much needed capacity to support JCB’s future growth plans. JCB World Logistics is operated by our logistics partners and they are working closely with employees and the GMB union to discuss redeployment opportunities."