New doubts for future of Tata Steel’s Scunthorpe plant, as European chief warns the site must be sold by April
Tata Steel’s European chief executive Karl-Ulrich Kohler has warned that its Scunthorpe steel plant must be sold by April as it has no future as part of the company’s business.
The company has been seeking a buyer for the plant as part of a wider sale of its long products business, which manufactures items like plates, sections and wire rods, for some time. However, a successful sale has been looking increasingly unlikely since plans to sell to businessman Gary Klesch fell through this summer.
A Tata Steel spokesman said: “We are assessing all strategic options for our Long Products Europe business. We are doing all we can to give the business the best chance of survival in this fiercely-competitive global marketplace.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: “The UK government will not stand aside while the steel industry faces such unprecedented challenges. We are committed to working closely with industry on both short-term and long-term issues and to doing everything we can to support both industry and the workers.”