British Steel has just announced plans to cut 400 managerial, professional and administrative roles across its UK, Ireland, France and the Netherlands operations as part of its “ongoing transformation”.
The group’s executive chairman, Roland Junck, said the company has committed £120m to capital expenditure: “However, the pace of change we need in this challenging industry requires further and continued investment along with more agile and efficient operations.
“To help us achieve this, we have to make difficult decisions and our plans unfortunately include the proposed reduction of 400 roles across our global workforce.”
He added: “We know this will be a worrying time for many and we’ll do everything possible to ensure our people continue to get the support they deserve, now and in the future.”
The news that British Steel is to shed 400 jobs is devastating news to a workforce that have done everything asked of them over the last two years. They have taken a pay cut, seen their pensions change and worked… https://t.co/sY14dNWh3d
— Nic Dakin #StayAtHomeSavesLives (@NicDakin55) September 14, 2018
A spokesperson for the National Trade Union Steel Coordinating Committee added that the announcement will come as a “body blow” to the workforce who have already made huge sacrifices to make the business sustainable.
“We recognise these are challenging times for UK steelmakers, and it’s high time the government stepped up and delivered for us by supporting investment in strategic steel assets. However it is particularly disappointing the company has chosen to cut jobs so soon after celebrating a second successful year and first quarter profits of £21m,” the spokesperson added.
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