26/06/2009

Steelmaker Corus To Axe 2,000 Jobs

More than 2,000 jobs are to go at steel giant Corus which has announced it is to axe the posts at its UK plants following a slump in demand, unions have said.

Sources say about 500 jobs in Rotherham are at risk, while 400 will go on Teeside.

Corus in Rotherham is also likely to be affected by the cuts, according to reports.

The Community union has called on the government to intervene saying there was now a battle for the survival of British steelmaking.

Community union general secretary Michael Leahy said: "This is bad news on top of bad news - this brings the Corus job cuts for the year to around 4,500 and that’s without the threat to thousands of workers on Teeside and potentially more job cuts in the pipeline for Corus Strip UK.

"All this just adds to the misery for steelworkers. Corus need to decide if they really are trying to be fit for the future or just fit for the scrapheap.

"We have real concerns for the integrity of the British steel industry - we fear its further erosion could fundamentally undermine UK manufacturing."

Corus, which is owned by Indian firm Tata, announced earlier this year that it was axing more than 10% of its UK workforce, by cutting 3,500 jobs worldwide, including 2,500 in this country.

The firm also announced a series of cost-cutting measures in January, including the mothballing of a mill in South Wales, and restructuring several parts of its business.

A formal announcement is expected to be made today.

(JM/BMcC)

Related Northern Ireland Recruitment News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

09 July 2009
Corus 'To Axe 366 Jobs'
Steelmaker Corus is believed to be axing 366 jobs at its Scunthorpe site in North East England. The company has said that it has "announced proposals to improve the competitiveness of its Scunthorpe site by aligning costs with anticipated steel demand". Consultations with employees and their representatives have begun on the site today.
12 December 2008
Corus Steel Workers 'May Face Pay Cut'
Corus Steel workers are expected to take a pay cut due to the firm downsizing it's European output, it has emerged. The company employs 25,000 workers, and fears the economic crisis has bitten the steel mill were compounded last month when 500 jobs were axed from its UK workforce.
19 February 2010
Corus To Begin Mothballing Redcar Plant
Steel producer Corus, part of the Tata Steel Group, is to begin mothballing its Redcar plant, resulting in the loss of up to 1,600 jobs and possible industrial action. The government has pledged to do all it can to prevent the site from closing down permanently, and Tata Steel is currently looking for a potential buyer.
26 January 2009
Bank Seeks Redundancies As Recession Bites
As shock news emerged today that more that 700 jobs are to be lost at the Ulster Bank across Ireland, there's yet more evidence that the recession is hitting hard with shock redundancies predicted across the UK's steel industry.
10 December 2012
IT Firm Creates 100 New Jobs
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, TD, today announced that Mandiant, a specialist provider of IT security solutions is to establish an engineering and security operations centre in Dublin with the creation of 100 new jobs.