STEELMAKER Corus, which reports its interim results today, is taking on 80 staff to ensure contracts worth millions of pounds can be completed.

The expansion of its Tees-side pipe mill operations follows growth in the energy market for oil and gas pipes, with the Corus Tubes Energy business, made up of plants in Hartlepool and Stockton, being one of the only operations in the country able to carry out the work.

The business employs about 350 staff and the 80 jobs will be for at least the next six months.

Dennis Tyson, human resources manager at the Hartlepool and Stockton operation, said: "A number of projects have come along that have led to an increase in production.

"While the initial contracts for the new workers will be six months, their positions will be reviewed at the end of that time in relation to the needs of the business."

Anglo-Dutch parent company Corus, which employs about 4,000 people on Teesside, is restructuring its business, which includes the loss of 6,000 jobs across the UK. It is expected to announce today that interim losses have widened by 2.2 per cent to £235m.