Almost half of the people whose jobs are at risk at Teesworks will have either resigned or been made redundant by the end of this week.
Up to 81 South Tees Site Company (STSC) workers could lose their jobs by the end of June as the demolition works at the site comes to an end. The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that 36 of those people will have left the organisation by the end of March through compulsory redundancy, voluntary redundancy, or resignation.
Speaking at the South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) board meeting on Thursday, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “It’s got to be seen as a bittersweet moment as it is showing the progress of the site to get it cleared to bring in the jobs we are all talking about.
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“So we are just in that very difficult phase of managing the running down of the site company as we pick up the construction and jobs on the site.” Mr Houchen said that the TVCA would make sure that the workers found alternative employment.
STDC board member Graham Robb, the founder of Recognition Marketing anf PR, said that the process showed an “exemplary way to handle difficult news” and he believed that “every sinew has been stretched” to support workers to find other jobs. He added that the staff who work for the STSC were “fundamental” to the progress that’s been made on the site.
STDC associate member Tom Smyth has thanked the workers involved on behalf of the government. He added: “They made what could have been a really dangerous situation for the whole of Teesside into something that was safe and secure and really well managed.”
Mr Houchen also praised the way the unions have interacted as part of this process. The STSC was set up in 2015 after the closure of the former Redcar Steelworks by the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy to ensure that the site was safe and to remove any hazards.
However, the last of the demolition work is set to be handed over to contractors by the end of April meaning the STSC will no longer be required. Staff were told at a meeting in October 2021 that their jobs were at risk but assured their employment would be secure until after Christmas. Thousands of new jobs are expected to be created in the area.
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