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| Tata Steel job losses 'will kill Scunthorpe' | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| As 900 workers at Tata's Scunthorpe plant face losing their jobs, what will be the knock-on effect for the north Lincolnshire town "built on steel"? | |
| For 150 years, the town's steelworks, with plumes of smoke rising from their imposing towers, have dominated Scunthorpe's skyline and its manufacturing industry. | For 150 years, the town's steelworks, with plumes of smoke rising from their imposing towers, have dominated Scunthorpe's skyline and its manufacturing industry. |
| But the past 40 years has marked a long, slow decline, with numbers employed at the plant on North Lincoln Road dropping from 30,000 in the 1950s to 4,000 in 2015. | |
| Now, almost a quarter of those people are set to lose their jobs. | Now, almost a quarter of those people are set to lose their jobs. |
| "This will kill Scunthorpe, there will be nothing." | "This will kill Scunthorpe, there will be nothing." |
| So says Karen Hope-Dilley, who runs the Grange Lane Cafe just down the road. | So says Karen Hope-Dilley, who runs the Grange Lane Cafe just down the road. |
| She said: "Morale of the customers is just at rock bottom. People are really scared about what's happening. | She said: "Morale of the customers is just at rock bottom. People are really scared about what's happening. |
| "They're worried about their jobs, their futures, their children, their families." | "They're worried about their jobs, their futures, their children, their families." |
| Adrienne Calder, who also works at the cafe, said it could cost the family their business. | Adrienne Calder, who also works at the cafe, said it could cost the family their business. |
| "Everyone is in the same situation, we could potentially close down because we haven't got the people coming in to buy our food." | "Everyone is in the same situation, we could potentially close down because we haven't got the people coming in to buy our food." |
| For those directly affected by the news, the future seems even more bleak. | For those directly affected by the news, the future seems even more bleak. |
| Single dad David Sayers is the third generation of his family to work at the Scunthorpe site and described the news as a "disaster." | |
| "I support my family and if I potentially lose my income, I could lose my home as well," he said. | "I support my family and if I potentially lose my income, I could lose my home as well," he said. |
| For others, whose entire careers have been spent on the plate mills, prospects could be limited. | For others, whose entire careers have been spent on the plate mills, prospects could be limited. |
| James Parkinson worked at the steelworks for more than 30 years, as did his father, uncles and grandfather. | James Parkinson worked at the steelworks for more than 30 years, as did his father, uncles and grandfather. |
| "If you ask anyone in the town, they will know someone who's worked there. | "If you ask anyone in the town, they will know someone who's worked there. |
| "Now they're getting rid of 900 jobs and they're going to say, 'Sorry son, there's no jobs for you, here's your redundancy, we'll try to help as much as we can'. | "Now they're getting rid of 900 jobs and they're going to say, 'Sorry son, there's no jobs for you, here's your redundancy, we'll try to help as much as we can'. |
| "But what jobs are there, especially for people like myself who's been there since school? Some people don't know anything other than steelworks." | "But what jobs are there, especially for people like myself who's been there since school? Some people don't know anything other than steelworks." |
| In nearby Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lorraine Cable, whose two sons both work at Tata, said the future was no brighter for the younger generation. | In nearby Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lorraine Cable, whose two sons both work at Tata, said the future was no brighter for the younger generation. |
| "They would have to sign on like everyone else because there will be so many people looking for jobs and there aren't any at the minute, even without people being laid off." | "They would have to sign on like everyone else because there will be so many people looking for jobs and there aren't any at the minute, even without people being laid off." |
| "There's nothing else here for them." | |
| Many fear the latest announcement - which has done nothing to quell rumours of the site's eventual closure - could turn Scunthorpe into a "ghost town". | |
| One resident who spoke to BBC Radio Lincolnshire described the knock-on effect the job losses would have on the town. | One resident who spoke to BBC Radio Lincolnshire described the knock-on effect the job losses would have on the town. |
| "It's not just steelworkers' jobs, it's peripheral businesses, small construction companies, supplies, they are all going to suffer," he said. | "It's not just steelworkers' jobs, it's peripheral businesses, small construction companies, supplies, they are all going to suffer," he said. |