Union leaders at steelmaker Corus are seeking urgent talks with company bosses ahead of the expected announcement of 3,500 job cuts.
Steelmaker Corus has confirmed that it is cutting 3,500 jobs worldwide, including 2,500 in the UK.
With more than 2,500 positions tipped to go in the UK, the BBC understands Corus will make a statement later.
The announcement comes after Corus, like all steel firms, has seen a substantial fall in demand.
The firm, has so far refused to comment, but like all steelmakers, it has seen a substantial fall in demand.
Corus, a subsidiary of India's Tata Steel, currently employs 24,000 people in the UK and 42,000 worldwide.
Corus, a subsidiary of India's Tata Steel, currently employs 24,000 people in the UK and 42,000 worldwide.
Despite the expected job cuts, Corus is not predicted to close any of its UK plants, including its three main steelworks at Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and Teesside.
It said it would be "mothballing" a facility at Llanwern near Newport, south Wales, and was trying to sell a majority stake in its Teesside site.
Mick Fell, union chairman at Scunthorpe, said he did not anticipate there would be any job losses there, but said he imagined workers would be "quite nervous" ahead of Monday morning's expected announcement.
Corus said it would "make every effort to achieve the job losses through voluntary redundancies".
A spokesman for Community trade union, which represents steelworkers, said the reported job cut figures may have been "exaggerated".
"The structural changes we are proposing today have been carefully considered," said Corus chief executive Philippe Varin.
He went on: "Any job cuts that damage the viability and long-term future of the steel industry will be looked on unfavourably."
"They are essential for the future of the business."
He added that the union was committed to defending the jobs and terms and conditions of its members.
Corus workers were told about the job cuts this morning.
'Support workers'
"This is a body blow for UK manufacturing," said John Wilson, senior officer of the GMB union.
Rotherham MP Denis MacShane said he had spent the weekend urging Corus to maintain the production capacity in Rotherham and South Yorkshire, so that "once the world slump in demand for steel is over, the UK will remain a steel-making economy". CORUS IN UK Steelworks at Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and TeessideEngineering steels produced at RotherhamStrip mills at Llanwern, South WalesTinplate works at Trostre, south WalesCoating works at Tafarnaubach, south Wales and Shotton, north WalesElectrical steel works at Newport, south WalesTube mills at Corby and HartlepoolPlate mill at Dalzell, ScotlandNarrow strip mills at Brinsworth, EnglandSpecial section mill at Skinningrove, EnglandService centre at Lisburn, Northern Ireland
He said: "The government has found billions for the banks and must do what it takes to support steelworkers and their families as we go through this global recession.
"Corus has invested in training a new generation of steel-workers and ways should be found to keep them operational rather than see steel-making disappear from the UK."
A 40% fall in global demand for steel from its peak of last year caused Corus's order book to drop by more than a third.
Steel prices have fallen by half since last September.
The company has already announced swift measures to reduce costs.
"I understand that the cuts at Europe's second-largest steelmaker have been brought forward as a result of the downturn, but it was clear to [its soon-to-retire chief executive] Mr Varin that Corus needed to become more efficient in any case," said Robert Peston.
Slump in demand
Steelmakers around the world have been hit by falling demand from carmakers, shipbuilders, construction and heavy engineering sectors, which, in turn, have seen demand for their products drop. CORUS WORLDWIDE Steelworks at IJmuiden, The NetherlandsCoating works at Maubeuge, north FranceElectrical steel works at Surahammer, SwedenTube mills at Oosterhout, Arnhem and Maastricht, The NetherlandsRail mill at Hayange, north-east FranceNarrow strip mills at Dusseldorf and Trier, Germany, and Warren and Bethlehem, USAService centres at Cork and Dublin, Ireland
Corus was formed in 1999 through the merger of British Steel and Koninklijke Hoogovens. In 2007, it became a subsidiary of Tata Steel.
Corus claims to be Europe's second-largest steelmaker, producing 20 million tonnes of crude steel every year.
Its annual revenues are about £12bn ($16.3bn).
The company has requested financial help from the UK government for a rolling programme of providing new skills to its entire workforce.
"This would take the form of a state top-up for the wages of employees," said Robert Peston.
Have you been affected by the issues in this story? Are you a Corus employee or do you work in the steel industry? What are your experiences in the current economic climate? Send us your comments using the form below.
In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below.
