Thousands of jobs at risk if British Steel furnaces close

Chinese parent company rejects government green subsidy

- KARL MATCHETT

More than 2,000 jobs at British Steel are at risk after the company announced it is in talks over the possible closure of furnaces.

British Steel, the second-largest producer in the country, has launched a redundancy consultation on shutting two blast furnaces in Scunthorpe. More than half of the company’s 3,500strong workforce could potentially be impacted.

The Independent understands the firm’s Chinese parent company Jingye rejected a £500m subsidy offer from the UK government on Wednesday, made by business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds in an attempt to aid the transition to producing green steel.

While talks remain ongoing, it is also understood there are currently no plans to increase the offer, which remains on the table should Jingye reconsider its position.

The steel industry was hit earlier this month by one of Donald Trump’s tariffs, which placed an additional 25 per cent cost on steel and aluminium imports and led to orders being cancelled. Government data shows the steelmaking industry contributing £2.3bn to the UK economy in 2023, equivalent to 1 per cent of manufacturing output.

Reacting to Jingye’s rejection of the offer, Mr Reynolds said: “I know this will be a deeply worrying time for staff and, while this is British Steel’s decision, we will continue working tirelessly to reach an agreement with the company’s owners to secure its future and protect taxpayers’ money.

“We’ve been clear there’s a bright future for steelmaking in the UK. We’ve committed up to £2.5bn to rebuild the sector and will soon publish a plan for steel setting out how we can achieve a sustainable future for the workforce, industry and local communities.”