British Steel has said it will end a consultation on up to 2,700 redundancies, after the UK government took control of the firm earlier this month.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously recalled MPs from their spring recess so Parliament could pass emergency legislation allowing the government to take operational control of British Steel.
Since the government’s intervention, British Steel has been able to secure a stable supply of raw materials to its two blast furnaces, Queen Anne and Queen Bess.
Now British Steel has confirmed it has officially withdrawn the HR1 consultation form it had submitted to the Department of Business and Trade on March 27. This means all operations at British Steel are being maintained, including Scunthorpe Rod Mill.
Lisa Coulson, interim Chief Commercial Officer said: “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.
“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.
“And I would also like to thank everyone in our workforce for their extraordinary dedication over recent days and weeks. It is your hard work and passion that means steelmaking in Scunthorpe has a bright future.
“Quite simply, British Steel workers are the finest in the world.”
The announcement comes after British Steel’s owners, Chinese firm Jingye, proposed to close Scunthorpe’s two blast furnaces and put up to 2,700 jobs at risk out of a workforce of 3,500.
The consultation triggered huge concern among British politicians and industry figures, with the UK Government using emergency powers to take control of British Steel and continue production at the site.
Industry minister Sarah Jones said: “The action this Government took on April 12, and the measures we’ve taken since, matter greatly for this country – and are of huge importance to thousands of steelworkers and their families.
“We will always stand up for our steel industry.
“Now, thanks to our decisive action to protect steelmaking at Scunthorpe, British Steel has cancelled the redundancy consultations started by its owners Jingye, bringing certainty for thousands of hard-working staff for the long term.”
A spokesman for the Unite union said: “Unite are pleased that British Steel have come to their senses and realised that job losses are not the way to ensure Britain remains an industrial power.
“This should be just the first step to begin the process of nationalisation
“The Government now needs to implement a wholesale overhaul of its energy policy with a commitment to invest in renewables to lower energy prices for heavy industry like steel production.”
