Third Sheffield steelworks to cut jobs

William Cook is ‘intially’ looking to axe up to 19 jobs across all departments.

Group manging director Chris Seymour stated, in a note to staff seen by The Star, that the drop in orders ‘has led to insufficient work available to the business and without cutting costs, wherever possible, the business will no longer be able to operate’.

William Cook Cast Products, based on Parkway Avenue, employs 190 people in Sheffield.

A spokesman said: “The wider William Cook group has a long-term order book and remains in strong health."

The news comes days after two other Sheffield steel companies announced job losses due to the pandemic and highlights the precarious position of the industry.

Forgemasters plans to axe 95 jobs and Outokumpu 70.

Mr Seymour’s note adds: ‘The company is prepared to consider volunteers. Those wishing to be considered for voluntary redundancy should be submit their request to their manager or supervisor by Tuesday 13 October. There is no guarantee volunteers will be accepted and the decision will be made at the company’s discretion’.

In 2017, it spent £6m on a new ‘Precision Foundry’ in Sheffield based on 3D printing patterns. In July last year it said it had returned to profit after bouncing back from what chairman Sir Andrew Cook said was the first loss in his 40 years at the helm and “I am willing to predict, the last.”

The company also took on a dozen apprentices.

At the time, Mr Seymour, said: “Profitability continues to improve as a result of our ongoing strategic investment in newly modernised plants and high-calibre staff together with a focus on more specialised end markets.”

The improved performance was said to be due to "meticulous addressing” of costs and selling prices, he added.

Last week, David Bond, chief executive officer at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “The decision to make redundancies has been extremely difficult for us, but staff cuts have become an unavoidable necessity in order to protect the majority of jobs at Sheffield Forgemasters.

“Although our defence work remains unaffected, we have seen a significant downturn for commercial work driven by the pandemic, leaving many areas of our plant well below capacity.”

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