UK Edition
The owners of British Steel have asked for a government bailout to save the jobs of thousands of steel workers in the north of England.
Jingye Group, a Chinese company that bought Britain's second-biggest steel producer out of insolvency in 2020, told ministers that its two blast furnaces would not be viable without financial support from taxpayers.
Insiders told Sky News the amount required to keep the company’s blast furnaces operational in Scunthorpe, north Lincolnshire, could be “hundreds of millions of pounds”.
British Steel has about 4,000 employees and supports the livelihoods of thousands of people in its supply chain.
On Saturday night it was unclear whether the rescue package was requested as a grant or loan.
In addition to soaring energy costs, the steel industry faces slowing global demand and excess production capacity, which is lowering prices.
The Government said it was working with the company to “understand the best way forward as it seeks to secure a more sustainable future".
A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the Government had already provided support for the steel sector with more than £780m since 2013 to help with energy costs while the Energy Bill Relief Scheme is in place to lower costs.
Charlotte Childs, of trade union GMB, said the Government should "put its money where its mouth is."
She said if the furnaces were to close, Port Talbot would be the only integrated steelworks left in Britain and the country would be heavily reliant on Chinese steel.
A British Steel spokesman said: "We are investing hundreds of millions of pounds in our long-term future but like most other companies we are facing a significant challenge because of the economic slowdown, surging inflation and exceptionally high energy and carbon prices.
"We welcome the recent announcement by the UK government to reduce energy costs for businesses and remain in dialogue with officials to ensure we compete on a level playing field with our global competitors."