Dec. 7 – The European arm of India-based Tata Steel will in part shutdown its Teesside Cast Products (TCP) plant by the end of January leading to 1,700 job losses.
Corus’ decision to slash jobs came after its international slab buyers canceled a 10-year contract to buy almost 80 percent of the plant’s production.
Italian steel company Marcegaglia, South Korea’s Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Duferco Participations Holding and Alvory suddenly canceled their signed contracts in April as the global economic crisis depressed steel demand says The Wall Street Journal.
By January 2010, Redcar Blast Furnace, Lackenby steelmaking and the South Bank Coke Ovens will be closed while Redcar Wharf, Redcar Coke Ovens and some of the power generating capacity will remain open.
The TCP plant has a capacity of 3 million metric tons of steel annually and hires 2,300 employees. The closure of the plant will be a major blow for the community.
“There is still time to save TCP as a going concern and Tata Corus have a moral and social obligation to Teesside steelworkers who have moved heaven and earth to rescue TCP and save their jobs,” Community Union General Secretary Michael Leahy was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying.
