Caterpillar to expand Desford workforce by 300
CATERPILLAR have announced that they are to create 300 new jobs at their manufacturing facility in Desford, Leicestershire, over the coming months following an increase in orders. The recruitment drive will swell the current workforce of 1,000 by around a third.
Around 80% of the new jobs will be on the shopfloor, with most being temporary, although the company says it hopes to make many of them permanent next year. The remaining 20% will be in administration and sales.
The creation of the new positions, which represents a welcome turnaround for the factory after hundreds of posts were previously axed due to a slump in orders brought about by the global economic downturn, follows Caterpillar’s decision to move production of one of the company’s most popular backhoe loader models from the US to Desford.
Caterpillar managers say this move, together with a recent rise in orders for the three other products made at the 132-acre Leicestershire site, has helped secure the long-term future of the factory.
Desford has already expanded its workforce by 300 during the past few months and the new positions will increase the total workforce to around 1,300, just short of factory’s the pre-recession peak of 1,400 in May 2008.
Around 80% of the new jobs will be on the shopfloor, with most being temporary, although the company says it hopes to make many of them permanent next year. The remaining 20% will be in administration and sales.
The creation of the new positions, which represents a welcome turnaround for the factory after hundreds of posts were previously axed due to a slump in orders brought about by the global economic downturn, follows Caterpillar’s decision to move production of one of the company’s most popular backhoe loader models from the US to Desford.
Caterpillar managers say this move, together with a recent rise in orders for the three other products made at the 132-acre Leicestershire site, has helped secure the long-term future of the factory.
Desford has already expanded its workforce by 300 during the past few months and the new positions will increase the total workforce to around 1,300, just short of factory’s the pre-recession peak of 1,400 in May 2008.
