Coronavirus: Staff hours cut at Steelite International

Workers at a pottery manufacturer have been put on a four-day working week, in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

About 650 hourly paid staff at Stoke-on-Trent-based Steelite International are understood to be affected.

The firm, which supplies the hospitality industry, said the pandemic had affected orders.

It said it was in "unprecedented times" and would be reviewing "ongoing costs and efficiencies".

The short-time working affects employees at Steelite's Middleport factory and distribution centre and the Cross 50 warehousing facility at Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Starting from this week, and for the next six weeks, full-time employees will work Monday to Thursday.

However, one of these weeks is the annual Easter factory shutdown and normal holiday pay will apply, Steelite said.

"Hotels, cruise ships, restaurants and general hospitality venues are being affected by significantly reduced bookings," Human Resources Director Louise Griffin said.

"We are in unprecedented times and our decisions and measures may well change on a daily basis depending on actions taken by governments around the world."

The move comes after manufacturer JCB confirmed it was cutting production and working hours as it was facing a shortage of components due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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