In the Corus case, the job losses had been long expected and can also be attributed to falling demand for steel and a long-expected restructuring in the wake of its merger with Dutch company Hoogoovens. In fact, the pound has since fallen back from its recent highs, as the euro regains its allure to investors, helped by the recent European interest rate rise. The ECB rate rise helped the euro Some say that Corus is looking for a quick fix and if it waited the weaker pound would soon feed through into better export returns. But in Corus's case, there were other issues at stake. If it moves production from England to Poland, as has been rumoured, it stands to save on wage costs.
Some analysts do attribute the strength of sterling to the company's misfortunes.
On Friday ING Barings lowered its earnings per share estimates for the company for this year. It believes that high exposure to sterling will continue to blight the company's results. The job losses are the latest blow to a steel industry, which has seen its revenues hit by falling demand in key markets such as south east Asia, Russia and South America. This compares with the 150,000 people employed in the steel industry in 1979. The sector has been dealt a series of blows.