British Steel has halted plans to make up to 2,700 Scunthorpe workers redundant after the UK government took control of the plant earlier this month.
Previous owners Jingye Group had submitted a consultation in March to drastically slim down its workforce, following reports that it was losing around £700,000 a day, making production economically unfeasible.
There were concerns that the firm had been running down its existing raw material supplies and had not ordered enough to keep the two blast furnaces operating. While restarting the blast furnaces would have been technically possible in the event of a shutdown, it would be extremely expensive and risk damaging key systems at the plant.
But after taking control, the government was able to secure emergency supplies, including a ship containing coking coal that is on its way from Australia to ensure longer-term security.
This means both blast furnaces can continue to operate as normal, and a proposed ‘salamander tap’ of the Queen Bess furnace...