Update 25th June 2009 – Corus are cutting another 2,000 jobs across the U.K. – more details can be found on the BBC website. The following information relates to an annoucement of redundancies from January 2009.
Corus are likely to announce a 10% cut in its U.K. workforce tomorrow morning (Monday 26th), meaning 2,500 jobs will be going at the steelmaker.
Corus, which is now owned by Indian firm Tata Steel, has been hit by a massive downturn in the steel industry, with both demand and prices plummeting. There has also been a review of its operations undertaken since the Tata takeover, with these job losses probably an outcome of that review, although likely to have been brought forward because of the changes in the steel market.
Corus has various operations in the U.K., although apparently has no plans to close any of its plants:
- Steelworks at Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and Teesside
- Engineering steels produced at Rotherham
- Strip mills at Llanwern, South Wales
- Tinplate works at Trostre, south Wales
- Coating works at Tafarnaubach, south Wales and Shotton, north Wales
- Electrical steel works at Newport, south Wales
- Tube mills at Corby and Hartlepool
- Plate mill at Dalzell, Scotland
- Narrow strip mills at Brinsworth, England
- Special section mill at Skinningrove, England
- Service centre at Lisburn, Northern Ireland
List courtesy of the BBC.
Update 26/01/2009: looks like at least a couple of plants will be closing, with the Wednesbury and Wednesfield plants in the West Midlands shutting, with the loss of 169 jobs. It would appear that Rotheram will be most affected, with 700 Corus jobs disappearing there.
Tata has also closed its West Bengal car manufacturing Plant(India) and may also retrench some of its workers due to on going financial recession.