It is reported that Scottish steel contractor Bone Steel has put more than 80 of its factory workers on consultation as it faces a severe drop off in demand.

Mr Stephen Ewer business development manager at Bone Steel confirmed 84 workers had been placed on a 30 day consultation period. He said that by the end of the month, more than 40 could be made redundant. The cuts illustrate the severity and pace of the downturn in the steel sector, with rivals Severfield Rowen announcing a costs review only last month.

Mr Ewer denied rumors that all 170 Bone Steel employees, 120 factory workers and 50 members of office staff, had been put on consultation. He insisted that only the 84 workers at the Wishaw factory in Scotland had been given the notice and said other staff are not affected at this time.

Mr Ewer described the move as common practice in this situation. He said that "Essentially we are doing what a number of other steel contractors did six months ago. We have had a number of projects that have kept us busy but now we are aligning ourselves with the current market conditions. We have got 84 of our factory operatives on consultation and the likelihood is that we will reduce the factory by about 50% of them."

(Sourced from www.cnplus.co.uk)