The chief executive of steel giant Corus has resigned after the company announced losses of £458 million.

The appalling figures cast a long shadow over thousands of North-East jobs.

Unions called for immediate talks aimed at winning a promise that the Corus plant on Teesside wouldn't be hit.

But company bosses made it clear that every option was under review.

They warned that sites would have to be dramatically slimmed down - or even closed - if the company is to survive.

The beleaguered steelmaker said that in the light of its performance, the board had decided that a change of leadership was needed.

Tony Pedder had tendered his resignation which was accepted ''with immediate effect''. Chairman Sir Brian Moffat has agreed to defer his planned retirement.

Today's figures showed that turnover across the group had slumped to £7.19 billion from £7.7 billion a year earlier. Operating losses were £393 million against £377 million in 2001.

The company repeated comments earlier in the week that losses in the UK would have to be reversed through the consolidation of operations on to fewer sites.

But Corus did not provide any further details in its statement today on where those plant closures might be.

However, it reported a sharp fall in sales volumes during the period, driven by the adverse impact of the weak global economy and the strength of sterling against the euro during 2002.

The company employs almost 26,000 staff in the UK and increased its share of the steel market to 52 per cent despite the difficulties in the sector.

The figures come as Corus attempts to secure fresh financing after plans to shore up its balance sheet with a major asset sale fell through yesterday.

The company's hopes of raising £543 million through the disposal of two aluminium businesses collapsed when the move was blocked by Corus' own supervisory board in the Netherlands.

Debts at the end of 2002 were today shown to be £1.24 billion - £324 million lower than a year earlier because of the proceeds from disposals. The company's net loss of £458 million compared with a figure of £237 million in 2001.