Unions call for Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty Steel pledge to be honoured
Unions have said they will hold Sanjeev Gupta to his promise to keep steel plants open after Liberty Steel Group announced plans to sell some of its sites.
The GMB union held with meetings with Liberty and its parent group GFG Alliance after plans which put more than 500 jobs at risk in the West Midlands were announced on Monday.
More than 200 plants are under threat in West Bromwich and Kidderminster in proposals which also include the closure of the major Stocksbridge site in Sheffield and its downstream plants and the narrow strip mill at Brinsworth.
Ross Murdoch, GMB national officer, said: "Sanjeev Gupta pledged no steel plants would close on his watch and we expect him to honour that promise.
"As ever, the devil will be in the detail and we await specific information with regards to the proposed sales."
The National Trade Union Steel Coordinating Committee also issued a statement: “Stocksbridge and its downstream plants are strategically important businesses vital to our country’s defence, energy and aerospace sectors. The future for these businesses must be secured and the trade unions will hold Sanjeev Gupta to his promise that none of our steel plants will close on his watch.
“Liberty must act as a responsible seller and run a transparent sales process which fully engages the trade unions. We will expect to meet any potential buyer to scrutinise their plans and test their commitment to the workforce and to our industry.
“Whilst we are encouraged that Liberty and Credit Suisse appear to be making progress on the refinancing, we need to see a solution to inject cash into the UK as a matter of urgency.”
Liberty Steel, the UK's third largest steel business, is selling the plants as part of a major restructure.
The steel giant was heavily reliant on Greensill Capital, a financing company which went out of business earlier this year, raising worries about Liberty's future, and the 5,000 people it employs in the UK
When the financing company went into administration, its lawyers revealed that it had around five billion dollars (£3.5 billion) of exposure to Liberty's parent company GFG Alliance.
Plants up for sale include steel strip manufacturer Liberty Performance Steels in Albion Road, West Bromwich, where 167 people work and Liberty Aluminium Technologies, which produces metal castings for the automotive industry, in Kidderminster where 55 are employed.
Another 129 work for LAT in Coventry and 225 in the same city for Liberty Pressing Solutions.
Altogether 576 West Midlands jobs are affected.
