THE steel industry boss who announced the mothballing of a major Corus plant in Teesside is to leave the company in October, it emerged at the weekend.
American Kirby Adams joined Corus, the European division of Indian steelmaker Tata, just over a year ago when the company was reportedly losing £100m a month and facing a major slump in international steel markets.
It is now making a profit, but the turnaround has come at the expense of thousands of jobs. The decision to mothball the site was taken after a consortium walked away from a contract to buy its slab steel.
Mr Adams, who will be replaced at the helm of Tata Steel Europe by chief operating officer Karl-Ulrich Kohler, is returning to Australia, where he worked before joining Corus. He will remain as an adviser to Tata Steel.
Dr Kohler joined Corus in February after a 30-year steel industry career at the companies that today comprise ThyssenKrupp Steel.
Corus employs around 20,000 people in the UK.
