Crisis talks have been called after shocking new figures revealed more than have been placed at risk by the 海角视频’s steel crash.
Business leaders, academics and economists will meet at (BCU) to set up the Midlands Steel Taskforce and thrash out a strategy to support the region’s operators dependent on, or connected with, the steel industry.
Fears about the sector, which is vital to the Midlands key supply chain sector, have been heightened after job cuts in Teesside, Scunthorpe, Scotland, and the collapse of .
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Up to 20 industry figures will attend alongside experts from BCU, the West Midlands Economic Forum and Neena Gill, West Midlands MEP.
BCU’s Beverley Nielsen, director at IDEA Birmingham, said: “If we are serious about rebalancing the 海角视频 economy it is time we understood more explicitly the interconnections within our supply chains that enable companies based in the Midlands to compete internationally.
“If we look at the steel industry in isolation we might just shrug our shoulders and say ‘that’s international markets, there’s nothing we can do’.
“But if we think creatively working to have real understanding about the many parts making up our Midlands ecosystem, then we may decide that it’s time we stood up for our businesses and the many people in them that make them work.”
The event, which takes place at Birmingham City University’s Parkside Building at 3.30pm on Friday, October 23, is expected to be the inaugural meeting of the Midlands Steel Taskforce.
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Union leaders claim a “wave of fear” is sweeping the beleaguered steel industry after another 1,200 jobs were axed.
Tata Steel confirmed it will cut 900 jobs cut from its plant in Scunthorpe, and 270 in Scotland, effectively ending steelmaking north of the border after 2,200 job losses at the Redcar steelworks on Teesside.
Fears of cuts at Caparo, which employs the majority of its 1,700 staff in the West Midlands, add to the concerns.
Speaking about competition for international market share, Andrew Thorpe, chairman at Thorpe Lighting, said: “Chinese imports on finished commercial lighting fittings into the 海角视频 pay an import duty set by the EU of 2.7 per cent.
“If we want to export similar products the import duty is 20 per cent into China. Copyright and protection of our IPR is an issue.
“We need to wake up and start tackling issues that are within our reach - which we have invested in and built up over many years.”