THERE has hardly been time for the celebrations over the latest Nissan investment to die away.

But, after sharing the joy felt by Nissan employees in Sunderland, our thoughts are now with the 4,500 steelworkers on Teesside.

They face an anxious weekend ahead of the announcement by Corus of savage cutbacks.

We hope against hope that reports that Teesside will bear the brunt of the job losses are unfounded.

We remember all too well the devastating impact the closure of the steelworks had on Consett.

While much has been done to diversify Teesside's economy, a further run-down of steel-making will still be a hammer blow.

We ask Corus executives to take a lesson from their counterparts at Nissan. They put aside short-term factors, such the exchange rates and cyclical sales trends, and concentrated their minds on long-term options.

Like the workers at Nissan, the steelworkers on Teesside are among the most hard working in the world, their plants among the most productive.

In recent years, they have responded to the challenges of an increasingly global market by making further efficiency improvements.

This should stand them in good stead when the steel markets around the world pick up again, as they surely will.

This is the time for Corus to demonstrate its long-term faith in its Teesside employees, not to sacrifice them for short-term gain.