Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus is preparing to cut 3,500 jobs this week, including 2,000 in Britain, one of the biggest blows yet to the faltering manufacturing sector in the country during the current crisis.
Although officials at Corus have declined to comment, union leaders in Britain have been in last ditch talks with the government in an attempt to fend off some of the job cuts. In the case of Corus, the union leaders have pressed ministers to adopt a system offered by the Dutch government, where the state makes up the pay of workers put on short working weeks.
Owned by Indian steel giant Tata Steel, Corus, which employs 24,000 people in the UK and has steelmaking operations at Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and Teesside, has been rocked by the paralysis affecting two of its main markets, construction and car manufacturing.
Corus management had planned to introduce the changes in question gradually, but the plan has been accelerated by the crisis in the world steel industry. Production worldwide dropped by a quarter in December, according to figures released last week by the World Steel Association.