Hopes for ‘quality’ steel jobs

Hopes that a thousand steel jobs might be recovered at Teesside Cast Products (TCP) are beginning to rise.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been reached between owner Corus and Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI), Thailand’s largest steel producer.

The MoU sets out the scope for the “potential” £320 million acquisition of the steelmaking plant by SSI, including the coke ovens which continued to operate when steelmaking at the Redcar plant was mothballed in February at a cost of 1,100 jobs.

Community Union general secretary Michael Leahy said: “The new jobs that SSI will create are a positive development, but we hope they won’t be undermined by the Con-Dem government’s budget cuts that have increased the chances of a double dip recession.”

The union welcomed the appointment of TCP insider David Reid as interim managing director.

Alan Clarke, chief executive of the regional development agency One North East, described it as a significant step towards steelmaking beginning once again on Teesside, potentially by the middle of next year.

“The quality jobs that would result would provide a massive boost for the local economy, which would also be boosted through the financial benefits that would flow into the supply chain,” Clarke said.