British Steel confirms ‘stable supply of raw materials’ to Scunthorpe blast furnaces, ends redundancy consultation

BRITISH STEEL has closed its redundancy consultation for the two blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, UK, meaning 2,700 jobs will remain at the site for now.

In a statement yesterday, the company said they had secured a “stable supply of raw materials to both its blast furnaces for the short term”.

There were initial fears that a “Salamander tap” – where slag and molten iron are drained from the base – would be needed to shut down the Queen Bess blast furnace. British Steel has since confirmed this will no longer be necessary.

British Steel has been under new management since the government passed emergency legislation earlier this month to take control from its Chinese owners, Jingye. Lisa Coulson, British Steel’s interim chief commercial officer, said: “Since the government passed its legislation, we have been working day and night to ensure we are able to stabilise our operations.

“The work done to secure the raw materials we need for both Queen Anne and Queen Bess blast furnaces means we are able to run both continuously.

“We would like to thank our trade union partners for their professionalism and the support of their members over recent days and weeks.”

British Steel had initially announced plans to close the UK’s two last remaining blast furnaces in March, which could have seen the entire workforce gone as early as June. The government took control of the business’s management amid fears the furnaces would run out of raw materials forcing their permanent closure.

Coulson added that “steelmaking in Scunthorpe has a bright future”. Jingye retains full ownership of the company, although UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said nationalisation is now the “likely option”.