Is no-one safe?

[Thracian]

There aren't many major steel manufacturers left in the world but Corus are one of them. I held quite a few shares in the firm until a couple of years back and they were decidedly healthy.

Their demise just sums up the knock-on effect of such as the car industry grinding to a near halt and the shameful abandonment of manufacturing industries and the skilled people they need, in a time of crisis.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090125/tuk-c...bs-6323e80.html

Meanwhile...

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090125/tuk-j...3m-6323e80.html

[stez]

There aren't many major steel manufacturers left in the world but Corus are one of them. I held quite a few shares in the firm until a couple of years back and they were decidedly healthy.

Their demise just sums up the knock-on effect of such as the car industry grinding to a near halt and the shameful abandonment of manufacturing industries and the skilled people they need, in a time of crisis.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090125/tuk-c...bs-6323e80.html

[irony]it started with the tories, but obviously the country no longer needs to actually produce any goods, anymore. we can all work in pubs or be in the IT 'industry' or be data in-putters, in modern britain[/irony]

[Webbo]

There aren't many major steel manufacturers left in the world but Corus are one of them. I held quite a few shares in the firm until a couple of years back and they were decidedly healthy.

Their demise just sums up the knock-on effect of such as the car industry grinding to a near halt and the shameful abandonment of manufacturing industries and the skilled people they need, in a time of crisis.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090125/tuk-c...bs-6323e80.html

I agree about the demise of manufacturing but I really don't see how we can compete with firms in India and China paying their people 70 pence a day with virtually no health and safety to speak of.

I'm not sure we should even try to compete with those conditions either.

[Trav Le Bleu]

I've said it before, we pride oursleves in abolishing slavery and sweat shops, but all we have done is leave people to slave for us in their own country and set up sweat shops there.

[Thracian]

I agree about the demise of manufacturing but I really don't see how we can compete with firms in India and China paying their people 70 pence a day with virtually no health and safety to speak of.

I'm not sure we should even try to compete with those conditions either.

Wasn't the EU supposed to provide us with a protected market whereby goods were produced by people enjoying reasonable wages and conditions?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union#Single_market

[Webbo]

Wasn't the EU supposed to provide us with a protected market whereby goods were produced by people enjoying reasonable wages and conditions?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union#Single_market

I'm not a big fan of protectionism (nor the EU for that matter). It's only fair that we allow these third world countries earn their way out of poverty. Although the conditions these people work under are appalling I've no doubt they are better off than they used to be.

[Thracian]

I'm not a big fan of protectionism (nor the EU for that matter). It's only fair that we allow these third world countries earn their way out of poverty. Although the conditions these people work under are appalling I've no doubt they are better off than they used to be.

For countries that are supposed to be earning their way out of trouble they always seem to be spending plenty on armaments and their leaders often seem to be mightily flushed when they move on.

But I wouldn't worry too much for the likes of Africa.

It might help if those countries didn't waste their energies and resources on inter-community conflicts but China seems pretty desperate to benefit from the bounty that is Africa and I'm quite sure that, with genuinely visionary leadership instead of the self-servers they so often get, Africa can extract a very price price for its vast potential wealth.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle3319909.ece

[James.]

There aren't many major steel manufacturers left in the world but Corus are one of them.

You do know Corus are just a subsidiary of India-based Tata Steel, right?

[Jon the Hat]

What is the alternative. Demand for steel has halved, becasue people are not building skyscrapers and they are not buying cars. What do you want to do? Pay Corus not to make steel? In a recession some companies fail, others don't. you cannot go around propping up those who have more cost than revenue. They need to scale back and they will. When things pick up they will recruit again, and probably come out stronger for it in the long run.