British Steel, owned by Chinese company Jingye, has announced plans to close its two blast furnaces by June, risking 2,000 to 2,700 jobs at its Scunthorpe site, reports Sylvia Pfeifer and Jim Pickard of the Financial Times. This follows the company’s rejection of a £500 million government offer to help transition to greener steelmaking. Despite ongoing talks, British Steel has cited challenging market conditions, high environmental costs, and financial losses as reasons for the closures. The UK government is considering nationalisation or other options to protect the steel industry, which it deems strategically important. Unions have strongly criticized the decision, urging both the company and the government to resume negotiations to avoid the closure, which would eliminate the UK’s only primary steelmaking capacity. They write:
British Steel told workers on Thursday morning that it would start consultations on job losses, putting at risk between 2,000 and 2,700 jobs at the company’s flagship site in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. The business employs about 3,500 people in the UK across three sites. […]
British Steel — the last remaining operator of UK blast furnaces after Tata Steel closed down its Port Talbot furnaces — said it would continue to engage with ministers to try to reach an agreement. […]
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