Engineering news
The UK's second largest steelmaker SSI UK has announced that its plant in Redcar is to be mothballed with the loss of 1,700 jobs.
The company announced earlier this month that it was halting production at its Redcar blast furnace, as well as mothballing one of its coke ovens, amid poor steel trading conditions across the world. It said today that the Redcar coke ovens and power station will continue to operate.
The company said the decision was taken against a background of poor steel trading conditions and a severe deterioration in steel prices in 2015, which it believes is unlikely to improve in the short term.
SSI said it would continue to work with stakeholders to look at restarting operations at some point in the future.
Local MP Anna Turley said: “This is devastating news. The government has to step in and this secure asset.”
Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of steel union Community, said: “Steelmaking on Teesside must have a future and our fight to save our steel will continue. The industrial assets must be preserved at all costs and the skills base also needs to be protected. These vital industrial skills have been passed down through the generations and must not be lost. That blast furnace must not become a monument to 170 years of history and it must be mothballed properly to preserve its integrity and give it the chance of a future. We have serious concerns about the ability of SSI to do this and so the government must step in to ensure that the mothballing is done properly.
"The cost of inaction and the demise of the assets could extend to hundreds of millions of pounds. Not just the cost of cleaning up the site but the economic and social costs from devastating an entire steel community and the lives of the thousands of families who depend upon it.
"The prime minister said his government would do 'everything we can' to support the UK steel industry. He needs to deliver on that. Now is the time to demonstrate the political will to see a vital foundation industry continue.”
David Hulse, GMB national officer, added: "This is absolutely devastating news for the workers, their families and the economy for the community at Redcar. All that will be left operating will be the coke ovens unless the UK government steps in even at this stage. It is not too late for them to do so while the furnaces are still burning.”
In response, business minister Anna Soubry said: "Despite everyone’s recent efforts to help SSI this is very sad news and a big blow for the workforce and their families. They are the priority and with SSI’s difficulties being no secret, why I had already asked Amanda Skelton, chief executive of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, to chair a local taskforce to help support workers and the local economy. I also have concerns about reports that local contractors have gone unpaid.
"I hope that SSI’s announcement that they are mothballing the furnace gives some hope that steel making could be restarted on Teesside in the future."
SSI workers will now enter a 45-day consultation over redundancies.