Corus to shed another 2,045 jobs
25 Jun 2009
Europe's second largest steelmaker Corus, which is part of Tata Steel, is planning to axe another 2,045 jobs at the UK and the Netherlands because of the worldwide economic downturn and, in particular, the decline in steel demand in Europe and America.
This time, the company will reduce some 1,500 employees at its production facilities and another 800 at the engineering steels sites, mainly at Rotherham and Stocksbridge in the UK.
About 370 jobs will go from Corus Tubes in the UK and the Netherlands, about 375 at downstream rolling and finishing plants in Teesside and Scotland, while another 500 white-collar jobs will go throughout the Corus Long Products division, with the majority coming at Scunthorpe.
The steelmaker said in a statement, ''Corus has already made significant cost savings with the support of its employee and union representatives since the downturn began, but several sites have suffered further deterioration in demand for their products. This additional restructuring will enable the business to align its production and manning levels with anticipated demand.''
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.''
The company said that it would make every effort to ensure as many of the job losses as possible are voluntary, though the potential for compulsory redundancies cannot be ruled out.
