Tata's Corus cuts hours for 4,600; seeks govt funds

By Aaron Gray-Block

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Tata Steel (TISC.BO) unit Corus has applied to the Dutch government to part-fund temporary cuts in the work hours of 4,600 staff, a Dutch trade union said on Tuesday, as the global slowdown eats into production levels.

"This is terrible but the best option under the circumstances," spokesman Maarten Hoelscher at trade union De Unie said, adding that the market had changed dramatically in recent weeks.

The government-funded work reduction scheme is part of a 6 billion euro ($7.6 billion) package -- equivalent to 1 percent of Dutch GDP -- announced last month to boost the flagging Dutch economy.

If Corus' application is approved, its workers in the Netherlands would be paid 70 percent of their wage via unemployment benefits, while Corus would pay the other 30 percent, a second trade union -- FNV -- told Dutch news agency ANP.

The arrangement would run for six weeks, starting in the first week of January, ANP said.

Corus, which employs 11,300 workers in the Netherlands, said in a statement on Monday it had applied for the work reduction scheme for staff at its Corus Steel plant at Ijmuiden, near Amsterdam. It did not specify the number of workers that could be affected.

The Social Affairs Ministry aims to make a decision on applications for the scheme within one working day, meaning Corus could expect an answer later on Tuesday.

PRODUCTION CUTS