200 jobs to go at Corus sites
Monday 26th January 2009, 11:30AM GMT.
Around 200 jobs are being axed by steel giant Corus in the Black Country as it cuts its UK workforce by 2,500, it was revealed today.
Sites in Wolverhampton and Wednesbury are set to close as part of the massive cost-cutting measures by the Indian-owned steel company, which is mothballing part of its steel-making mill in South Wales.
Corus currently employs around 1,000 people at around a dozen plants across the Black Country, from Oldbury, Wednesbury and Walsall to Wolverhampton and Brierley Hill.
Engineering steel plants at Horseley Fields in Wolverhampton and at All Saints in Wednesbury are to be closed, with the loss of around 170 jobs. Another 27 are to go from the Wednesfield Steelpark as part of cuts across the company’s distribution business. Other sites are expected to lose jobs in “ones and twos” said a spokesman.
The distribution business as a whole is expected to cut around 300 jobs nationwide as part of 2,500 cut from Corus UK workforce of 24,000 people. Overall, 3,500 jobs are being cut from the company’s global workforce of 42,000.
Collapsing demand for steel from the construction and car industries – both decimated by the recession – had already seen Corus axe jobs and working hours late last year as production was slashed by a third.
In November 50 jobs were lost at the Wednesfield Steelpark and another 50 from plants at Wombourne, Cradley, Dudley, Round Oak in Brierley Hill, Kingswinford, Great Bridge and Telford.
Today Corus said it was taking a series of measures aimed at improving its competitiveness, saying they would improve profits by more than £200 million.
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well thank you government – you bail out a bank that then gives bonus’s to all its staff but you cant bail out a steel company in great britain that has already seen job losses. my husband works for Corus and has had months of will or wont i lose my job and now again uncertainty is over all the heads.
this is just what you need!!!
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Don’t know any banks that have paid out bonuses after being bailed out by the government. That would cause a rather big stink! Reccession is going to get a lot worse. The government cannot bail every one out. It needs to sort the banks out and get them on side. It bails them out, then the banks turn their backs on the government about lending.Soet them Mr Brown and come down hard on them!!!!!!!!!
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Steel isn’t neccesary for the future service industry that Britain will revolve around. These job losses could actually be for the best.
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Chrisc:- you obviously don’t follow the news do you? Northern Rock staff being payed nearly 10% bonuses was one of the major stories last week. I suggest you check your facts before you post your ill-informed comments.
Karen:- I epathise with you. I used to work for Corus and part of my duties were based at the Engineering Steels sites at Wednesbury and Wolverhampton and also at Steelpark in Wolverhampton.
There is life after Corus and sometimes good comes out of adverse situations.
I now work for a great company that cares about its staff.
I note that what was once a major British company (British Steel)is now in foreign hands and as usual it’s the UK staff that take the brunt of the redundancies.
The goverment as usual will just sit back and do nothing.
Good luck to all my former colleagues at Corus and I hope you find work soon.
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You Nick obviously havn’t been keeping up either! Northern rock is private and has paid its debts back to the government and thats why the bonuses have been approved by our government. i don’t agree with them but there you are.
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Sorry apologise its paid back 15 billion and still owes 11 billion. it shows the state of our great country-still being ruined by the big money people
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Here we go again same old same old. Just when you think you job is safe a month later it happens all over again!! We were told by top management that there wouldn’t be anymore redeundancies and now there is 3500 more and to top it all we found out on Sky News! Good luck to any other Corus employees out there going through the same thing.
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Thank you to whoever leaked it out about the all the jobs that are going AGAIN.The person should be praised for doing it.The management have now been forced to get off their arse’s and let the work force know whats going on.My husband has worked at corus for 18 years and maybe one of the people to loose his job, i was made redundant August and still have’nt found another job, Does this mean the two of us will be out of work.
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My father works(ed) for Corus and was informed that their would be a meeting on Friday where management would update employees however, the news has already been broken by Sky News and I have found out that my father is losing his job after working there for 30+ years, its a disgrace….
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This is the result of selling all of our industry to foreign owners. When the tough times come the retract to thier centre and thats not here. Add on the ease of which they can dispose of British workers make it more attractive to cut our jobs
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i work there and i`m a little confused,they were told @ steel park today that no jobs were going from there,yet it says here that there are,so who`s tellin the truth??
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TREVOR 3. I HOPE NO MEMBER/S OF YOUR FAMILY EVER
GET STUCK IN A UPPER LEVEL FIRE .
YOU WOULD HOPE THAT FIRE ESCAPE WAS MADE OF STEEL.
SO IT IS VERY NECCESARY !
OR WOULD YOU RATHER PLASTIC ?
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I watched the news today and saw the annoucment
As a ex corus worker myself i really felt for those guys.some didnt have any notice either.
Nick was one of the lucky ones to find a better job, but my experience is Corus pay very good money and good bonuses and when i was made redundant a few years ago i had to take a drop in pay and i didnt have a recession to contend with either.
My advice is to retrain for another trade
while the recession is on . the steel trade is dying round this area , its up to the chamber of commerce to get our areas the new industries
not based on steel. thats the future.
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