Specialist Steelmaker To Axe Up To 100 Jobs

Further pressure was mounting on government ministers to support the UK steel industry as it emerged that specialist steelmaker Sheffield Forgemasters is to shed up to 100 jobs as part of a survival package.

The news was met by renewed calls from union Unite for the government to turn guidance on infrastructure procurement into orders and for the UK steel industry to be given a level playing field with its competitors.

Calling for cast iron guarantees that if it's built for Britain it uses British steel, the union urged minsters to give assurances that there wouldn’t be a repeat of the phase one tendering process for Hinckley Point C.

British firms such as Sheffield Forgemasters, which specialise in steel castings for the energy and civil nuclear industry, were reportedly excluded from the process.

Harish Patel Unite national officer for steel said: "World class companies like Sheffield Forgemasters need urgent support and a level playing field with their international competitors if they are to survive.

"It wasn't that long ago that government ministers pulled the plug on a loan that would have allowed Sheffield Forgemasters to invest in new equipment making it more productive.

"The government now needs to right that wrong by guaranteeing that British companies such as Sheffield Forgemasters are never again excluded from tendering for British infrastructure projects.

"If it's made for Britain then it should be built using British steel. Firms such as Forgemasters should be looking forward to helping build the new gas and nuclear power plants which are in the pipeline, not left fighting for their survival on an uneven playing field."