Steelworks to shutter early putting 2,500 jobs at risk

Thousands of steelworkers are set to be laid off just before Christmas after British Steel brought forward plans to close its blast furnaces in Scunthorpe.

- ARCHIE MITCHELL, DAVID MADDOX, MILLIE COOKE

In a move unions say will be devastating for the local community, at least 2,500 jobs are set to be put at risk by the early closure. British Steel has previously announced it would be building an electric arc furnace (EAF) as part of its decarbonisation plans, replacing the carbon-intensive blast furnaces at the Scunthorpe site.

While blast furnaces need a large team to run, EAF requires far fewer staff, meaning any change will result in heavy layoffs. The company had previously proposed to keep its current operations up and running until the transition had been made to electric arc steelmaking.

But a source told The Independent the plant will stop importing coke and coal in October, meaning the blast furnaces will be turned off permanently just before Christmas. “That means at least 2,500 jobs lost before the end of the year,” the source added. British Steel said no decision has been made and talks with the government are ongoing.

The GMB union, which represents steelworkers at the site, said the early closure would be “devastating for the community and workforce”.