Corus losses 'body blow' to the town

A STEEL industry expert has said he is horrified at the latest job losses from Scunthorpe's Corus plant.

Ian Barnes, a professor in economics at the University of Lincoln, said losing 500 jobs would be a 'body blow' to the town's small economy.

"These jobs are very unlikely to come back. That's the real problem," professor Barnes said.

"Things can recover but the fact is we have seen this industry slim down and slim down.

"This is a body blow.

"For a relatively small economy like Scunthorpe, 500 is an awful lot of jobs.

"I'm quite horrified about that. This is a massive blow."

And professor Barnes said it was impossible to rule out the situation getting worse because history shows jobs continue to be lost across the economy even after a recession officially ends.

But Scunthorpe MP Elliot Morley said he hoped the end of the recession would bring some good news to the town's steelworkers.

He said: "What's for sure is that production will pick up.

"I'm confident that the Scunthorpe works have a long term future.

"The history of the steel industry is that there has been a systematic reduction of the work force because of efficiencies.

"But I would expect a pick up in jobs as the economy picks up."