As
many as 440 jobs could be impacted by the plans, though Liberty will attempt to
retain them through its furlough and redeployment program
Sanjeev
Gupta’s Liberty Steel will cut production in the UK and idle some sites, as soaring energy
costs threaten hundreds of jobs across the group.
Steel output at Liberty’s electric arc
furnace in Rotherham will be reduced and replaced with imports from abroad. Two
of the Liberty’s downstream production units — including a rolling mill in
Newport — will be idled, the firm said in a statement Thursday.
As many as 440 jobs could be impacted by
the plans, though Liberty will attempt to retain them through its furlough and
redeployment program. High energy costs and cheaper imports from abroad are
making the production of commodity-grade products uncompetitive, the company
said.
The European steel sector was battered by
a steep drop in demand last year, which combined with surging energy costs to
force many sites to temporarily shut down. The downturn could hardly have come
at a worse time for Gupta, who has been trying to agree a deal with his biggest
creditors.
“We
understand this will be a very concerning time for workers and we stand ready
to support those who are impacted,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman,
Jamie Davies, told reporters on Thursday. “We will continue to work with the
steel industry.”
Liberty said it was no longer selling two of its steel sites in the north of
England as it focuses on making specialty products for aerospace and energy
customers. The plants were put up for sale in May 2021 following the collapse
of Greensill Capital, the group’s biggest lender.