400 job losses announced at British Steel

British Steel has announced 400 job losses at it's operations in the UK and Europe including at Scunthorpe.

The firm says they're sad to be making the announcement but the difficult decision is need to ensure long term growth.

The company say the job losses will involve managerial, professional and admin roles - they're taking other steps to secure their future too like improving their manufacturing and steps to boost sales.

And they say they're still committed to a £50 million upgrafde of the Rod Mill in Scunthorpe that was announced earlier this summer.

But unions and Scunthorpe MP Nic Dakin are describing it as devastating and a body blow to the workforce saying in the last two years they've taken a pay cut, seen their pensions change and worked hard to get British Steel on its way.

Roland Junck, British Steel’s Executive Chairman, said: “Following our launch and early growth as a new company, it’s important our business continues to evolve. It’s imperative we enhance our products and services and become more competitive so we can increase our foothold in the market.

“We’ve already committed £120 million to capital expenditure projects and are pressing ahead with the £50 million upgrade to our Scunthorpe Rod Mill, which we announced in July. However, the pace of change we need in this challenging industry requires further and continued investment along with more agile and efficient operations.

“To help us achieve this, we have to make difficult decisions and our plans unfortunately include the proposed reduction of 400 roles across our global workforce.

“We’re sad to be making this announcement, particularly for our colleagues who could be affected. The skill and dedication of our employees has helped us come a long way in a short period of time. 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 people in the supply chain. We’re confident these proposals will help achieve this.

“We’ll further discuss our proposals, which would consider applications for voluntary redundancy, with senior union representatives. We’ll ensure this process is handled in a sensitive manner. We haven’t set any deadlines but aim to keep the period of uncertainty for our people as short as we can.

“We know this will be a worrying time for many and we’ll do everything possible to ensure our people continue to get the support they deserve, now and in the future.”

Scunthorpe MP Nic Dakin has been responding to the announcement

'The news that British Steel is to shed 400 jobs is devastating news to a workforce that have done everything asked of them over the last two years. They have taken a pay cut, seen their pensions change and worked hard to get British Steel on its way.

Three years on from the height of the steel crisis the Conservative Government hasn't taken any steps to level the playing field for the UK steel industry. Despite massive goodwill from the steel sector there is still no sector deal for steel in place. And the Government is dragging its feet on improving public procurement, tackling unequal energy costs, tackling high business taxes and supporting capital investment.

As we leave the EU the Government is not giving steel the priority it needs to be confident of a fair deal post Brexit. So today's news is a wake-up call to Government to get its act together and get behind our steelworkers and steelmakers.

I am talking to British Steel. the steel unions and the Government, doing all I can to stand up for local steelworkers and their families at this difficult time. '

Responding to the announcement that British Steel is undergoing a “streamlining process” with a proposed reduction of 400 jobs, a spokesperson for the National Trade Union Steel Coordinating Committee said:

“This announcement will come as a body blow to the workforce who have already made huge sacrifices to make the business sustainable.

"We recognise these are challenging times for UK steelmakers, and it’s high time the government stepped up and delivered for us by supporting investment in strategic steel assets.

"However it is particularly disappointing the company has chosen to cut jobs so soon after celebrating a second successful year and first quarter profits of £21m.

"The company must now comply with its European and UK consultation obligations and present the detail behind the proposals to employee representatives.

"Throughout the consultation process the trade unions will challenge every job reduction and seek to mitigate the impact of the company’s proposals on our members.