15.03.2009

JCB criticised for day at the races

The UK’s national press have taken a dig at telehandler manufacturer for what is claimed to be a £100,000 sponsorship of the Cheltenham Festival last week.

The gist of the comments is that executives and their guests were spending four days at the races at a time that it has cut hundreds of jobs while other employees have agreed pay cuts.

JCB is pulling production back from some of its overseas plants to the UK, one example of this is North American telehandler production which is being moved from its plant in Savannah, Georgia, to one of its UK facilities.

Vertikal Comment

High profile sponsorships, such as Cheltenham, can prove challenging at times like these. However such major sponsorship deals are agreed well in advance and we understand that this sponsorship is the second year of a three year deal.

The only part of the coverage that brings a smile is a quote from ‘a spokesman for JCB’ who said: “During a downturn it’s especially important to keep promoting and marketing the business aggressively”

While this has always been JCB’s policy throughout previous recessions, we understand that this time around the company has uncharacteristically cut its marketing and promotional budget significantly.