Jobs could be under threat at Port Talbot

Steelworkers at Corus plants across Wales were waiting on Saturday to hear if their jobs would escape the axe.

The company - which announced huge losses - confirmed that cutbacks would be made, but has not yet said where jobs will be axed.

Steel giant Corus revealed huge losses of �458m at the end of a week of bad news for the company - which could threaten some of its 8,000 jobs in Wales.

The losses for the year to the end of December were announced at lunchtime on Friday.

At the same time, the resignation of Chief Executive Tony Pedder was announced.

News that Mr Pedder would receive a pay-off of more than �500,000 was swiftly condemned by union leaders.

A statement from the company said its financial state would "inevitably lead to further significant capacity reductions and concentration of operations onto fewer sites" but still gave no indication of where the axe was likely to fall.

Earlier in the week Corus warned that it would close more plants in the UK, with the loss of up to 3,000 jobs.

The three plants seen as most vulnerable are at Redcar on Teeside, Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire, and Port Talbot in south Wales.

Workers at Corus' other Welsh plants - Llanwern in Newport, Shotton in Flintshire and Trostre, Llanelli - also face uncertainty.

On Friday, unions representing Corus workers released a joint statement calling for the resignation of Corus Chairman Sir Brian Moffat.

The future of Corus was thrown into doubt on Thursday after the company's management lost a court battle in the Netherlands to allow part of the business to be sold.

The funds were needed to cover the costs of restructuring at the firm and to pay off some of its �1bn debts and avoid further job losses in the UK.

But Corus' Dutch supervisory board blocked the sale - a decision which was backed in the commercial court of appeal in Amsterdam on Thursday.

I will be pressing hard to ensure that the steel industry in Wales has a bright future Welsh Secretary Peter Hain

Despite the gloom on Thursday, Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said: "I will be pressing hard, together with the First Minister Rhodri Morgan, management and unions to ensure that the steel industry in Wales has a bright future.

"We have a high quality and productive steel operation in Wales and I want to assure everyone involved in the industry, in areas like Port Talbot and Llanwern, that they have our full support."

Corus meanwhile said it was communicating widely with its workers in Wales over the results and the findings of a UK-wide structural review which is expected soon.

'Spotlight'

The company's Welsh spokesman, Simon Jenkins, said: "It's business as usual.

"I think we've been so accustomed to being in the spotlight that people are focused on getting on with what they need to do.

"The only way forward for us in Wales is to keep our focus on what we need to do to progress our business."

Last year, nearly 800 Welsh steel jobs were lost when Corus closed its tinplate works in Ebbw Vale, and 1,300 posts were cut at Llanwern near Newport.