British Steel - Insolvency



I remember growing up in Corby in the 70s, British Steel pretty much engulfed the whole town and surrounding area, providing thousands upon thousands of jobs. Crying shame what's happened.
 
British Steel's troubles have been linked to a slump in orders from European customers ‎due to uncertainty over the Brexit process.

The firm has also been struggling with the weakness of the pound since the EU referendum in June 2016 and the escalating US-China trade war.
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Oof.
 
A government spokesman will be along shortly to say there is record investment in this. Seems to be the standard answer nowadays.
 
LondonBlackCat said:
They did it when National Express went tits up on the ECL and again with Virgin recently, so why not with this?
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That's a touch different. The ECL is a public service franchised out to private companies. It was always a temporary measure whilst another suitable company for the franchise was concerned, although in my experience, the service was far better when centrally run.
 
LondonBlackCat said:
Nationalisation is the only answer here.
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And then what? Who are they going to make steel for if the customers buy it from China instead? I agree it may be worthwhile short term if EU rules allow it, but only if there is a buyer in prospect

BBC has a bloke on the news last night saying China has produced more steel in the last two years than the UK has in total since we first developed the process
 
They were after £30m off the Gov't and if they don't get it reportedly 24,000 jobs are at risk (including supply lines etc). What's that £1250 per head, just take a chance and give them it, after all it's probably less than the annual per head subsidy at the Houses of Parliament bars and restaurants.

We'll end up paying more in benefits over the time it could keep the business afloat.
 
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max wartbug said:
They were after £30m off the Gov't and if they don't get it reportedly 24,000 jobs are at risk (including supply lines etc). What's that £1250 per head, just take a chance and give them it, after all it's probably less than the annual per head subsidy at the Houses of Parliament bars and restaurants.
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It's more like 75 million (on top of the 120 million bridging loan they've had already). BBC outlines the three options here:

British Steel: Three options for government

All have their risks to the government, whether practically or politically.
 
Hardyman's Yugo said:
And then what? Who are they going to make steel for if the customers buy it from China instead? I agree it may be worthwhile short term if EU rules allow it, but only if there is a buyer in prospect

BBC has a bloke on the news last night saying China has produced more steel in the last two years than the UK has in total since we first developed the process
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The government needs to take action to ensure British Steel is competitive. Perhaps voting in favour of EU tariffs on Chinese steel might have been a good start or making sure the tendering process for contacts included environment factors, employment or sustainability to be criteria.
 
MarcoGoalo said:
Didn't think we could bail out certain industries such as steel as it would be seen as state aid which goes against EU law.

Could be wrong like.
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The EU Commission says too much steel is produced in Europe. As a result, it has been inclined to take a fairly tough line on state aid in this sector.

In 2016 for example, the commission ordered Belgium to recover 211m euros in illegal state aid it had given to its steel industry.
 
sedling said:
The EU Commission says too much steel is produced in Europe. As a result, it has been inclined to take a fairly tough line on state aid in this sector.

In 2016 for example, the commission ordered Belgium to recover 211m euros in illegal state aid it had given to its steel industry.
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Seem to recall that. Also seem to remember there was a similar situation with the Italian steel industry around the same time.
 

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