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Corus cuts 2000 jobs
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25/06/2009
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Steel company Corus has announced that it is to cut some 2000 mainly UK jobs because, the company says, "of the worldwide economic downturn and, in particular, the decline in steel demand in Europe and America".
The company, now a part of the Indian-owned Tata group, said it had already made significant cost savings since the downturn began, but several sites had suffered further deterioration in demand for their products.
2,045 jobs have been identified as being at risk. Some 1,500 of these are in the company's production facilities: about 800 at the engineering steels sites, mainly Rotherham and Stocksbridge; about 370 in Corus Tubes in the UK and the Netherlands, and about 375 at downstream rolling and finishing plants in Teesside and Scotland. The company is also opening consultations on 500 white-collar jobs throughout the Corus Long Products division, the majority at Scunthorpe.
Corus CEO Kirby Adams said: "We understand the difficulties these job losses are likely to cause our employees and their families. Any recovery in Europe appears to be some time off, so it is vital that we take this proportionate and responsible action now. We have to achieve long-term, sustainable competitiveness in a global and over-supplied steel market and are determined to do so by focusing on the quality of the products and services we offer our customers."
Commenting on the cuts, Business Minister Pat McFadden said: "This is very disappointing news for those affected. We understand the difficulties that the company is facing caused by an extreme downturn in demand for steel around the world. It is restructuring as it seeks to match production to lower demand and to position itself for to the future.
"The Government is committed to ensuring UK industry has what it needs to tackle the challenges. We are working with Corus to try to secure the future for as many workers as possible. I met with Corus CEO Kirby Adams last week to discuss the pressures the company is facing as demand has failed to pick up with company projections. Lord Mandelson has also written to Corus to offer up to £5m of training support to secure jobs across Corus sites.
"During discussions with Corus they have said the critical measures the Government can take are continued fiscal stimulus to support demand, particularly in construction and automotive. That is exactly what we are doing through Government capital expenditure in construction, measures to assist automotive companies and the car scrappage scheme to boost demands for new vehicles.
"Corus remains a substantial steel business, employing more than 20,000 in the UK and with capacity to produce over 13 million tonnes of steel per year. It remains important to many regions and communities in the UK."
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Author
Ken Hurst
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