British Steel

British Steel has announced plans to close its two blast furnaces and steelmaking operations in Scunthorpe, marking the end of more than 160 years of steel production in the town

British Steel said Thursday that it is planning to close its two blast furnaces and steelmaking operations in the northern England town of Scunthorpe, after its Chinese owner Jingye failed to agree a rescue package with the UK government. Unions called on the government to help secure the future of the company, which Jingye said is suffering daily losses of around 700,000 pounds (USD 900,000) despite the Chinese firm investing more than 1.2 billion to maintain operations since its takeover of British Steel in 2020. The company, Britain's second-biggest steelmaker, blamed highly challenging market conditions, the imposition of tariffs, and higher environmental costs relating to the production of high-carbon steel. British Steel said it is consulting with unions over the the decision to close the blast furnaces and steelmaking operations and reduce rolling mill capacity, potentially as early as June. Between 2,000 to 2,700 jobs are potentially at risk. The company had sought support

Britain said on Monday it was in talks with steel makers, including British Steel, owned by China's Jingye Group, and India's Tata to help secure the industry's long-term future

Gupta, who heads the privately-held GFG Alliance, has snapped up steel assets around the world and made repeated offers to buy British Steel

The company failed to get a last-minute rescue deal from the government after running into a cash crunch from Brexit uncertainty, as well as high energy and labor costs

The firm said that the plant had returned to profit in the first few months of its financial year,