Corus plans another 366 job cuts

Steelmaker Corus has confirmed plans to cut a further 366 jobs at its plant in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire.

The proposed job losses come a week after the company announced that 2,000 posts were to go at its UK plants, including 500 in Scunthorpe.

Corus said further cuts were needed as "significant savings" had to be made to secure the plant's future.

The Community union said the latest job losses added "insult to injury" for the steelworkers.

Corus announced last month it was cutting almost 2,000 more jobs at UK plants including Teesside, Scunthorpe and Rotherham.

That followed an announcement in January that it planned to cut 2,500 jobs.

'Urgent action'

Workers at the Scunthorpe site were told of the further jobs at risk at a briefing by management on Thursday.

Corus site director Sean Lyons said: "The business still needs to make significant savings to secure a viable future for the site so we have had to take this urgent action to align our employment costs to current and forecast demand for our products."

"What Corus needs to prove is that these cuts will make steelmaking in Scunthorpe fit for the future, not fit for the scrapheap"

The proposed job cuts are expected to affect staff in the company's manufacturing department.

Corus said consultations had begun with workers and it would seek voluntary redundancies wherever possible.

It said support packages would be available to those leaving the company.

Michael Leahy, general secretary of the steelworkers' union Community, said: "This announcement adds insult to injury for Scunthorpe steelworkers.

"We keep hoping the job losses are ending and then another announcement comes along. We are disappointed an agreement could not be reached that would prevent job losses.

"In the coming months, Community will be supporting our members throughout the consultation period and opposing hard redundancies.

"What Corus needs to prove is that these cuts will make steelmaking in Scunthorpe fit for the future, not fit for the scrapheap."

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