British Steel is reportedly preparing to cut up to 2,000 jobs amid an operational shake-up.
According to the Sunday Times, Jingye, the Chinese owner, has consulted consultants to oversee a cost-cutting program.
However, no decisions have yet been made on job losses, sources told the newspaper.
It comes as the Mail on Sunday revealed that Scunthorpe-based British Steel, which employs around 4,500 workers, is losing between £20m and £30m a month.
Question marks have been hanging over the company’s finances for months and last year’s accounts have still not been released. British Steel collapsed in 2019 before being rescued by Jingye in March 2020.
Struggle: British Steel collapsed in 2019 before being rescued by Jingye in March 2020
The British steel industry employs more than 30,000 people. The country faces stiff competition from cheaper imports, especially from China. British Steel and India’s Tata Steel are the last two companies in Britain to make the material using traditional blast furnaces.
Both are now involved in the costly process of trying to switch to more environmentally friendly electric arc furnaces.
Last month, Tata received a £500 million government bailout, as well as new investment from owner Tata – but as many as 3,000 jobs will be lost.
A spokesperson for British Steel said: ‘As part of our journey to net zero, it is sensible to evaluate different operational scenarios to help achieve the targets, and we continue to assess our options.’