The Times of UK reported that UK’s largest steelmaker, Corus, is poised to cut up to 3,500 jobs this week in one of the biggest blows yet to the faltering manufacturing sector.

As per report, the planned job cuts will come across the company’s 23,000 strong British workforce and are not expected to lead to the closure of any large sites.

The report cited aid one industry insider as saying that “This is not about site closure. This is about making Corus in the UK competitive.”

Corus’s steelmaking operations are at Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and Teesside with steel processing at sites in South Wales, Scotland and the Midlands.