Minister refuses to rule out job cuts during visit to steelworks

The business secretary yesterday refused to rule out redundancies at the Scunthorpe steelworks despite calls from trade unions to end the programme of job losses started by its former owners.

- Kiran Stacey Jasper Jolly

Jonathan Reynolds said the plant might need a "different employment footprint" after the government's takeover even as he promised to try to save its two blast furnaces.

Reynolds was speaking during a visit to Immingham docks to oversee coal and iron ore being unloaded on its way to the Scunthorpe plant.

The government took control of the plant after finding out its Chinese owner, Jingye, was attempting to sell the supplies and hasten the closure of the furnaces.

"What we need for the long-term future of British Steel is that private sector partner to work with us as a government on a transformation programme," Reynolds said.

"That might be new technology, new facilities that might have a different employment footprint. The staff here absolutely know that. They know they need a long-term future."

He added: "What they didn't want was the unplanned, uncontrolled shutdown of the blast furnaces with thousands of job losses and no plan in place for the future.