Thousands lose jobs as steel price plummets

Another of 834 jobs across 24 firms have been lost in the Teesside region since Redcar collapsed with loss of 2,200 jobs

Dawn breaks over the blast furnace at the SSI UK steel plant in Redcar. Following the announcement that SSI UK are mothballing the plant and ceasing steel production 1700 jobs at the Teesside site have been lost

Figures show that more than 800 steel jobs have been lost in the wake of the collapse of SSI’s Redcar plant in September, as the industry continues to feel the wrath of punishing global prices.

Another of 834 jobs across 24 firms have been lost in the Teesside region since Redcar collapsed with loss of 2,200 jobs.

More than half of the 207 Teesside-based steel firms which supplied SSI said the closure impacted their business, according to Tees Valley Unlimited, the local enterprise partnership. SSI had 800-plus companies in its supply chain when it fell.

Businesses which produce and manufacturer steel have been squeezed by a glut of cheap imports from China since the turn of the year, driving overcapacity higher and prices lower.

Sajid Javid, the Business Secretary, attended an emergency EU meeting of policymakers in Brussels yesterday to address the issue, which ended with a promise by officials to modernise trade defence instruments in an attempt to limit China dumping steel in EU markets.

The EU vice-president Jyrki Katainen, who is rsponsible for jobs in the 27-member bloc, also called on countries such as the UK to make better use of state aid rules to cushion the fall in prices.

Policymakers will also set up a high level group on energy intensive industries to continue debating the issue.

Mr Javid, who called the meeting, said on Twitter that “important actions commitments” had been achieved. The meeting was greeted outside by protests from British, French and Belgian steelworkers, who have been hurt by the sector’s decline.

Redcar was the first major plant to go under, rapidly followed by two Tata Steel plants in Scotland and Scunthorpe last month – costing a further 1,200 jobs. The downstream steel manufacturer Caparo, whose chief executive Angad Paul died on Sunday after falling from his penthouse home in central London, also saw the majority of its divisions go into administration with 450 redundancies and a further 1,200 jobs at risk.