British steel firm 'to axe thousands of jobs'

British steelmaker Corus is to cut up to 3,500 jobs this week in one of the biggest blows yet to the faltering manufacturing sector, it was reported today.

The Anglo-Dutch company, which employs 24,000 people in the UK and has steelmaking operations at Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and Teesside, has been rocked by the paralysis gripping two of its main markets – construction and car manufacturing.