British Steel slashes 400 jobs in ‘body blow’ to staff

BritiSH Steel plans to cut 400 jobs in the uK and other countries to secure a ‘ sustainable future’, the company has announced.

Managerial, professional and administrative roles will be affected, but the firm said no closures were being considered.

British Steel, which is owned by Greybull Capital, employs 4,000 workers in the uK, mainly in Scunthorpe, but also in teesside and Workington.

unions said the news was a ‘body blow’ to workers.

British Steel’s 62- year- old executive chairman roland Junck said despite a £ 50m upgrade at the Scunthorpe site, ‘the pace of change we need in this challenging industry requires further and continued investment along with more agile and efficient operations’.

He said: ‘ to help us achieve this, we have to make difficult decisions and our plans unfortunately include the proposed reduction of 400 roles.

‘We’re sad to be making this announcement. However, it’s vital our transformation continues so we can build a sustainable future for the whole business, nearly 5,000 employees and many more in the supply chain.’

a spokesman for the national trade union Steel Co-ordinating Committee said: ‘this announcement will come as a body blow to the workforce who have already made huge sacrifices to make the business sustainable.

the spokesman added that it is ‘high time the Government stepped up and delivered for us by supporting investment in strategic steel assets’.