ABOUT 120 workers at Teesport were last night told they face an uncertain future due to the potential closure of the nearby Corus plant and the loss of work from another major client.

Teesport operator PD Ports told its “shocked” 585-strong workforce that it is looking to reduce staff numbers in a move primarily motivated by last month’s announcement that the Teesside Cast Products (TCP) plant is at risk of being mothballed.

Workers were told that a loss of work from its other major client, North Sea Ferries – which is taking part of its operation in-house instead of contracting PD Ports – and the effect of the economic downturn, were also significant in the announcement.

Unions last night expressed their “extreme disappointment”

at the development at the Middlesbrough port, and said workers had presumed they would be unaffected by the potential Corus closure, as no announcement had been made in the three weeks since the 3,000 workers at TCP were warned about their futures.

David Robinson, chief executive of PD Ports, called the move “very regrettable” but said action was needed to protect the business.

Fazia Hussain, regional officer for docks and waterways with union Unite, said: “Workers are shocked, absolutely shocked. It has been three weeks since the announcement was made about Corus, and we were just starting to breathe a sigh of relief that workers at PD Ports would not be affected.

“This is a workforce that, in the main, does not have skills that are transferable to other professions other than this type of work. Now it seems they will be joining the back of what is already a very long queue for new jobs.”

A 90-day consultation period was under way last night, with PD Ports initially looking for voluntary redundancies.

The closure of the region’s major Corus plant has not been confirmed, with efforts continuing to sell the TCP plant – or to stop a consortium of buyers from walking away from a contract to take 78 per cent of its output for the next five years.

But Mr Robinson said PD Ports had been hit by economic conditions, and needed to act now. “It is a very regrettable step, but we have begun a 90-day consultation with staff to advise them of the risk of redundancy of around 120 positions because of the Corus TCP situation and general reduced levels of business through the port driven mainly by the continued UK and global economic recession,” he said.

“There is a distinct possibility they might be able to save the steel plant from closure, but we cannot sit around for months waiting for people to make a decision. We have to take action to protect our business.”