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1 February, 2001The Anglo-Dutch steel company will make 6,050 U.K. workers redundant, with South Wales to be the hardest hit.
GREAT BRITAIN: On January 9, 2001, this website reported that Corus, the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker, had been warning of possibly 4,400 job cuts in the U.K. as part of their cost-saving measures. Yesterday, the news was official. The company announced a radical restructuring programme with the loss of 6,050 jobs over the next two years, which will affect over 20 per cent of its workforce and leave Corus UK with a total of 22,000 workers.
The job cuts will particularly affect Wales. According to BBC News, the worst hit will be the iron and steelmaking operations at the Llanwern plant near Newport, which will be closed, together with the tempering facilities at the factory. The tin plating factory at Ebbw Vale will be closed, as will be plants in Deeside, Teesside and Bryngwyn. Other parts of Corus UK will face cuts as well, with job reductions striking at all levels.
Angered by this news, the trade unions and government are strongly condemning the Corus decision. Officials of the IMF-affiliated Iron and Steel Trades Confederation will meet to discuss the best way to fight the job cuts. The UK prime minister, Tony Blair, called it a "devastating blow" and said the government would do all it could "to turn the situation around ..."
The company already slashed 4,500 jobs in 2000.
The job cuts will particularly affect Wales. According to BBC News, the worst hit will be the iron and steelmaking operations at the Llanwern plant near Newport, which will be closed, together with the tempering facilities at the factory. The tin plating factory at Ebbw Vale will be closed, as will be plants in Deeside, Teesside and Bryngwyn. Other parts of Corus UK will face cuts as well, with job reductions striking at all levels.
Angered by this news, the trade unions and government are strongly condemning the Corus decision. Officials of the IMF-affiliated Iron and Steel Trades Confederation will meet to discuss the best way to fight the job cuts. The UK prime minister, Tony Blair, called it a "devastating blow" and said the government would do all it could "to turn the situation around ..."
The company already slashed 4,500 jobs in 2000.