British Steel plans to close Scunthorpe blast furnaces, putting up to 2,700 jobs at risk

Chinese-owned group will start consultation with workforce but unions call move devastating'

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British Steel plans to close its two blast furnaces and steelmaking operations in Scunthorpe, in a move that puts up to 2,700 jobs at risk and that unions described as devastating".

British Steel, which is owned by China's Jingye, said it would immediately start consultations with its workforce and unions on redundancies stemming from the planned closure of the blast furnaces and steelmaking alongside a reduction of steel rolling mill capacity.