Digger-maker JCB has extended its factory shutdown by another month.
The manufacturer initially announced that its nine UK factories would be closed until April 20 as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
But the company has now confirmed that its sites - including those in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham - will remain closed until the end of May.
A JCB spokesman said: "The company's furlough period has been extended until May 31st."
It it believed that JCB's 6,500-strong UK workforce will continue to be paid 80 per cent of their basic salary via the Government's furlough scheme - regardless of how much they earn.
JCB is not the first manufacturer to extend its shutdown period.
BusinessLive has already reported how luxury car-giant Bentley Motors pushed their shutdown period back to May 18 and Stoke-on-Trent pottery firm Steelite International says production will not resume until at least July 1.
