THOUSANDS of steel workers could face weeks of uncertainty after steelmaker Corus said it would not rush a decision on where it would make cutbacks.

The Anglo-Dutch firm angered employees and politicians alike by announcing it would have to scale down its operations, but then refused to say where closures may come.

Officials at the company indicated that it would be "a considerable time" before any decision was made on whether or not to make thousands of Teesside workers redundant. But the steel producer, which has major plants at Teesside, Scunthorpe and Port Talbot in Wales, may not be given the breathing space it so dearly wants.

There were reports at the weekend that financiers may force the company's hand by threatening to withdraw funding if immediate measures were not taken.

Corus had hoped to negotiate a 30-year loan with HSBC, Dutch bank ABN Amro and Credit Suisse First Boston but it is believed the deal can only go ahead if urgent action is taken.

But one steel analyst suggested that Corus may not be held to ransom by its creditors: "If the banks decide to call in the loan there will be others queuing up to take their place.

"Corus is not the lame dog that people are convinced that it is."

The company's refusal to be rushed into a decision dashed hopes raised last week when Teesside MPs said they had won assurances from Corus that the Teesside plants had a "sustainable future".

A Corus spokesman said: "Corus has not given assurances about the future of any of its UK sites."

He added: "(A decision) will be determined by progress in discussions with our banks, which are likely to take a considerable time. Until then we cannot speculate on which sites will or will not be affected."

Vera Baird, MP for Redcar, and Dari Taylor, MP for Stockton South, spoke with Corus's senior managers at an all-party steel group meeting at Westminster on Thursday.

Afterwards, Ms Taylor said: "I am glad that Corus managers agree that the Tees plant has a stable and sustainable future."

The banks hold the key to how quickly the stability of that future will be established.