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Hundreds more jobs to go at Corus Scunthorpe plant
STEEL-maker Corus plans to axe nearly 400 more jobs at its Scunthorpe plant as fears grow for the factory's future.
The firm, owned by Indian giant Tata, said 366 posts were "at risk" at the site in north Lincolnshire, under plans to improve its competitiveness.
The job cuts are expected to hit managers and administrative staff and come on top of 500 job losses at Scunthorpe announced last month following a slump in demand for steel products.
The firm, which has seen profits slump as manufacturing demand declines, last month said it was to axe more than 2,000 posts, the majority in Rotherham, Sheffield and Scunthorpe.
The shock announcement came just five months after the steel giant axed 2,500 others nationwide, and raised questions over the future of its plants in Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire.
Those losses came on the day its Indian parent company Tata revealed its profits had dived by 60 per cent.
Scunthorpe Corus site director Sean Lyons said today: "We have been working hard with the trade unions to come up with a cost-saving solution that would have avoided job reductions and a proposal was put to Scunthorpe employees in May.
"Unfortunately, union representatives decided they were unable to ballot their members on the cost saving proposal. However, 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.
"Wherever possible we will seek to utilise volunteers, but we must ensure that the capability of plants or departments is not jeopardised."
Mr Lyons added: "The next few months will be unsettling for everyone – our employees, their families and our local communities. But we have to take these difficult actions in order to ensure a future for steelmaking in Scunthorpe."
Michael Leahy, general secretary of the steelworkers' union Community said the latest cuts added "insult to injury" for the workforce, adding: "We keep hoping the job losses are ending and then another announcement comes along.
"We were disappointed an agreement could not be reached that would prevent job losses. Unfortunately, Corus did not put all their cards on the table during the negotiations.
"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."
John Wilson, senior officer of the GMB union said: "With this further announcement there is an even greater need for urgency from Government to secure this bedrock manufacturing industry and reassure the local community.
"We need to follow up the local talks that have already taken place with unions, MPs and the Government to develop practical plans to find a way forward."
Mick Grant, cabinet member for strategic planning at North Lincolnshire Council, said: "This is terrible news, not just for those workers who will lose their jobs but also their families and the local economy. It's a real blow.
"Instead of getting rid of people they should be around the table with the unions negotiating. The council will now engage in further discussions with senior Corus officials, unions and regional bodies.
"We will take our case to London and fight our corner. We cannot sit back and watch all of these people lose their jobs."
The lack of Government support for under-threat Corus workers was criticised in Parliament this week by senior Labour backbenchers from Yorkshire.
Ministers have offered 5m – including 1.5m from regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, which is also operating a manufacturing taskforce to help affected workers – to fund training so the remaining workers can be kept on until trading improves.
But Denis MacShane, MP for Rotherham, described the sum as "paltry" and said it paled into insignificance next to the massive sums paid to "greed-soaked" city bankers.
In the debate in Parliament on Tuesday, he said the Government could not afford to oversee the terminal decline of the industry in Yorkshire.
"If Labour loses steel, Labour loses power – it's as simple as that," he said.
Are you a Corus worker who is losing their job? Contact the Yorkshire Post newsdesk on 0113 238 8427 or email us at yp.newsdesk@ypn.co.uk
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