ONE of Flintshire's biggest employers is to axe more than 2,000 posts across the UK following a slump in demand.
Sources said Corus steel plants including Rotherham and Scunthorpe will be hardest hit by the latest cutback by the steel giant, which has already axed thousands of jobs this year, according to the Press Association.
It is unclear at this stage whether the company's site in Shotton will be hit by this latest round of cuts.
The new cuts will hit the firm's long products division, which supplies steel to the construction industry, one of the worst affected by the recession.
The company refused to confirm the job losses, but unions described the cuts as "devastating".
Corus, owned by by Indian firm Tata, announced earlier this year that it was axing more than 10 per cent of its UK workforce, by cutting 3,500 jobs worldwide, including 2,500 in this country.
The firm announced a series of cost-cutting measures in January, including the mothballing of a mill in South Wales, and restructuring several parts of its business.
The Community union described the latest cuts as as "devastating" and said there was now a fight on for the future of British steelmaking.
General secretary Michael Leahy said: "It's devastating news for our members and their families in steel communities right across the UK.
"This is bad news on top of bad news - this brings the Corus job cuts for the year to around 4,500 and that's without the threat to thousands of workers on Teesside and potentially more job cuts in the pipeline for Corus Strip UK.
"All this just adds to the misery for steelworkers. Corus need to decide if they really are trying to be fit for the future or just fit for the scrapheap.
"We have real concerns for the integrity of the British steel industry - we fear its further erosion could fundamentally undermine UK manufacturing.
"The Government must also take action before it's too late.
"Community will be doing all it can in the coming days and weeks to minimise the job losses, oppose hard redundancies and fight for the future of British steelmaking."
A spokesman for the Community union told the Evening Leader this morning they had yet to hear if North Wales would be affected by the job cuts.