British Steel has officially ended its redundancy consultation, securing over 2,700 jobs at its Scunthorpe site. The decision follows the company’s withdrawal of its HR1 form submitted to the Department for Business and Trade in March, signalling a halt to previously announced plans to shut down its blast furnaces.
The reversal comes after the UK government passed the Steel Special Measures Act in April, emergency legislation aimed at preserving domestic steelmaking capabilities. Under the act, the government acquired powers to procure raw materials on behalf of the company, preventing the planned shutdown of the Queen Anne and Queen Bess furnaces.
This intervention follows Chinese owner Jingye’s earlier announcement that the blast furnaces were financially unsustainable, with daily losses of around £700,000. Jingye had suspended raw material procurement, triggering fears of widespread job losses and jeopardising the UK’s last remaining blast furnace operations.
With the furnaces now supplied and operating continuously, British Steel has stabilised production, averting immediate job losses. Industry stakeholders view the outcome as critical for maintaining sovereign steelmaking capacity, especially amid growing concerns over national security and supply chain resilience.
If the closures had gone ahead, the UK would have become the only G7 nation unable to produce virgin steel domestically.
