This weekend (jULY 2009) saw a huge demonstration through the streets of Redcar, campaigning against the planned loss of 2000 jobs at Corus steelworks nearby. It seems that a 10 year contract had been cancelled and Corus can no longer guarantee the work. In one way it is a sign of the times and in another something that tends to happen in the North East, recession or not.
Great Britain became what it was through the assistance of the large industries and manufacturing organisations, but towards the end of the 20th century, it seems that industries like steel works are destined for eastern, cheap labour based countries. In terms of generating new business you have to ask if there is a place in the modern UK business world for large industries anymore and have we put too many rules in place to make anything built on this land competitive compared to other countries.
There is a mixed view; certainly school leavers are not asking their careers advisers, “how do I get into industry”? But a more mature wiser population will argue that Britain needs heavy industry and that once it’s gone, it will not return. Unlike other countries throughout the world the government does not like to keep business alive. If it fails it fails, even if it is something as important as the motor industry, where we have sufficient car plants, just very few which are British owned. We are good enough to make the cars, just not clever enough to run them to a profit.
So it is unlikely that the Government will intervene and put money into Corus to keep it alive, within an area that has one of the worst start up business figures throughout the UK. There is only one answer and that is orders. Without customers, there is no work and no jobs. It will be hard for anyone else to believe sufficient work is being put in to source new work, or that Corus will diversify into other sectors. It must be a very worrying time, even tough there is a hint the recession is on the up and up.
Corus would do well to bring in external business consultants and experts in steel industry. A first class engineering consultant could carry out a business review, covering the business model, business strategy, production, sales and marketing plan, and performance improvement options for management. I know Global pressures can often make a locally viable proposition, unsustainable (e.g. the impact on demand by competition of cheap imports in the domestic or export markets).