British Steel has officially withdrawn plans to make up to 2,700 workers at its Scunthorpe plant redundant, following an emergency intervention by the UK government earlier this month that secured the company’s immediate future.
The move ends a period of intense uncertainty for employees at the Lincolnshire steelworks, after Chinese-owned parent company Jingye announced its intention to close the site’s two blast furnaces—Queen Anne and Queen Bess—effectively ending primary steelmaking in the UK.
In response, ministers took swift and decisive action, recalling parliament to pass emergency legislation granting powers to assume temporary control of the company and continue operations at the strategically important site.
British Steel confirmed on Tuesday that it has formally closed the redundancy consultation process, with interim chief commercial officer Lisa Coulson acknowledging the toll on the workforce: “This has been a difficult and worrying time for British Steel staff and their families. I can, however, confirm that we are closing the redundancy consultation without action.”
Coulson added that efforts had been focused on securing supplies of coking coal and other essential materials, enabling both furnaces to continue operating and averting the need for a “salamander tap”—a last-resort process to drain molten metal from an idled furnace.
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