British Steel confirms plans to axe 260 jobs as it closes coking ovens 

The company took the decision due to an "unprecedented" surge in operating costs, rising inflation and its efforts to build a “green and sustainable future”.

The closure of its coking ovens, which are used to heat coal to produce coke used to manufacture iron and steel, means British Steel will have to import coke.

British Steel chief executive Xifeng Han said: "Jingye is committed to our long-term future but decarbonisation is a major challenge for our business and, like most companies, we’re facing significant challenges because of the economic slowdown, rising inflation and exceptionally high energy prices."

He added: "We have taken action to reduce costs within our control. However, steelmaking in the UK remains uncompetitive when compared to other international steelmakers. Our energy costs, carbon costs and labour costs are some of the highest across the world, which are factors that we cannot influence directly.

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"We’re disappointed at having to make such proposals but are confident they will support a successful transformation."

The Unite union said the workforce is being failed by a "toxic combination" of a greedy employer and shambolic government.

Unite is demanding the books are opened to provide financial justification and vowed to fight to defend every job under threat at the north Lincolnshire plant.
 
Unite believes that the proposed job losses are a direct result of the Jingye Group, the Chinese owners of British Steel, and its failure to make good on its commitment to make major investments in the plant and the government’s abject inability to produce a coherent industrial strategy to protect the UK’s steel making capability.
 
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “British Steel workers are faced with the toxic combination of a greedy employer that is reneging on investment promises and a shambolic UK government that has no serious plan for the industry.

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“Unite’s members in British Steel are clear that they will fight this and they will have the full support of their union.
 
Unite national officer Linda McCulloch said “This union has not yet seen any financial justification for the closure of the coking ovens. British Steel needs to come clean and open its books in order to try to justify its decisions.
 
“Unite will pursue every avenue, including industrial action, to defend members’ jobs at British Steel.”
  
Labour MP Rachel Reeves tweeted: "This is really worrying. 

"Steelworkers deserve a government on their side.

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"Labour will partner with our steel industry to invest in the new technologies needed to keep well paid steel jobs in the UK for decades to come."

Earlier this month British Steel indicated that it was intending to make 1,200 workers redundant across all of its operations. However apart from the coke ovens, it has not indicated where the majority of the job losses would come from.