.gif?width=220&height=220&mediaprotectionhash=27a2c7b682a980edd98804d5ef3ab0afa2e746bbcbde7192e62ce4a3fe797500&ext=.gif)
Corus Plans Additional Job Cuts
06/26/2009 - Citing further deterioration in steel demand, Corus announces plans to lay off up to an additional 2045 employees, building on the restructuring program the company had originally announced in January 2009.
Citing its expectation that recovery in Europe is still some time away, Corus announced plans to lay off up to an additional 2045 employees. The latest round of job cuts would build on the restructuring program the company had originally announced in January 2009.
The company said that although it had made significant cost savings since the downturn began, several sites have suffered further deterioration in demand for their products, particularly in Europe and America. Corus said the additional restructuring would enable it to align production and manning levels with anticipated demand.
Some 1500 of the 2045 jobs scheduled for consultation 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 U.K. and the Netherlands); and about 375 at downstream rolling and finishing plants (Teesside and Scotland). The company said it will also open consultations on 500 white-collar jobs throughout the Corus Long Products division, the majority at Scunthorpe. Through the process, the company said it would seek to retain critical skills.
“We understand the difficulties these job losses are likely to cause our employees and their families,” said Corus CEO Kirby Adams. “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 emphasized that it would make every effort to ensure as many of the job losses as possible are voluntary, though the potential for compulsory redundancies could not be ruled out. Redundancy packages and outplacement support services are to be available to those leaving the company.
Corus, Europe's second-largest steel producer, has main steelmaking operations primarily in the U.K. and the Netherlands. Corus supplies steel and related services to the construction, automotive, packaging, mechanical engineering and other markets worldwide. Corus is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, one of the world’s top ten steel producers. Following the acquisition of Corus in 2007, the combined enterprise has an aggregate crude steel capacity of more than 28 million tonnes and approximately 82,700 employees across four continents.
