British Steel in Crisis : UK Government Try to Save Scunthorpe Factories
British Steel has no choice but to implement emergency measures to prevent its plants in Scunthrope from closing. The plants are lacking vital and basic resources to keep running. They are running the risk of completely going out of business. The company is seeking help from a number of businesses to plug the gaps in its supply to avoid complete ruination.
British Government Response
The factory, which is owned by Jingye Group, a Chinese firm, has so far rejected assistance from the UK government. This has forced the British parliament to step up. The parliament passed an emergency one day bill to forcibly take control of the site in Scunthrope. The UK management team of British steel has been trying their best to source the raw materials the plant needs to maintain basic operations.
Jonathan Renoyds, the UK Business Secretary, has declined to go as far as accusing Jinye outright of nefarious action. However he did say “It might not be sabotage, it might be neglect”. Renoyds also said there would now be a “high trust bar” for Chinese firms to invest in crucial British infrastructure. Although the Secretary would not go as far as to outran ban Chinese firms from such investments.
When asked about the financial costs of nationalising the plant : Reynolds explained that shutting down the plant and losing the UK’s ability to produce steel would cost the economy over £1 billion, which is actually more expensive than the potential losses from taking over and running the plant themselves.
When the British government was pushed for guarantees the plant would remain open and British Steel would remain operating : Monday morning, Treasury Minister James Murray said the government is working hard to get the needed raw materials to the site on time, but he couldn’t guarantee the government would be successful in getting the materials in time to save the Scunthrope plant.
The Guardian – British Steel to deploy emergency measures to save Scunthorpe furnaces
CNN – British government takes over running of UK’s last major steel plant from Chinese owner Jingye
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