UK-based steelmaker Corus, the European subsidiary of the Indian steel giant Tata Steel, is to restart production at its Llanwern works in Wales given the rise in steel prices as the global economic downturn eases, media reports state.
According to the reports, the company has said that it will restart production at the hot rolling mill which was shut down in January this year due to lack of demand, adding that the current increase in demand for steel is partly due to stocks within sectors like the car industry and construction reaching rock bottom. However, the reactivation will not restore more than 500 of the jobs previously cut by Corus, as operating costs have since risen.
Corus had announced in June that it would shed more than 2,000 jobs, or 10 percent of its UK workforce, in line with the slump in demand.