Steel group set to cut another 1,150 jobs

Anglo-Dutch steel group Corus is to axe 1,150 jobs in the UK and says another 2,200 posts are in jeopardy as part of a possible restructuring. The company has cut over 7,300 jobs in the last three years.

The plant worst affected will be Stocksbridge in SouthYorkshire where 822 jobs will go. Other cuts will be made at Llanwern, South Wales, where 100 jobs are to go, Teesside and Tipton in the West Midlands.

Corus plans to focus steelmaking on three sites at Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and Rotherham as its looks to return to profitability.

The future of a further 2,200 workers at its Teesside plant remains in doubt. The company said the plant would not produce steel for Corus in the future but will try to sell its output on the international market. However, if the Teesside operation fails to make money, it too will have to close.

Michael Leahy, general secretary of the ISTC community union, said the union would fight the cuts: "This is not a fight of futility. We have the most productive steel working in the world, especially in Yorkshire."

More than 200 job losses have been announced by the US-owned tyre company Goodyear Dunlop. The company claims that it needs to implement the cuts to remain competitive.

Peter Booth, national organiser for manufacturing at the T&G general union said: "We are shocked that the company has decided to make a statement on cuts now, rather than building on the recent productivity improvements."