Overview

• Jingye Group, British Steel's Chinese owner, has rejected a £500 million government aid package, citing insufficient support for transitioning to greener steelmaking.
• The company has initiated consultations to close Scunthorpe's blast furnaces, affecting up to 2,700 jobs and threatening the local economy and supply chains.
• British Steel reports daily losses of £700,000, blaming market conditions, tariffs, and environmental costs for the site's financial unsustainability.
• Unions warn that the closure would leave the UK as the only G7 nation without domestic primary steelmaking, posing risks to national security and infrastructure projects.
• The UK government remains in negotiations with Jingye, while unions propose interim plans to maintain operations during the transition to electric arc furnaces.