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| How the UK steel crisis unfolded | How the UK steel crisis unfolded |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Tata Steel’s decision to sell its UK business has brought the crisis engulfing the British steel industry to a head. As the boss at Port Talbot seeks backing for a management buyout to save the business, this is how the politically explosive crisis built over five years. | |
| May 2011 | May 2011 |
| Tata Steel, Britain’s biggest steelmaker, announces 1,500 job cuts at its sites in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, and on Teesside. The company, which owns the rump of the former British Steel, blames a post-financial-crisis construction slump and the cost of new climate change rules from the EU and in the UK. | Tata Steel, Britain’s biggest steelmaker, announces 1,500 job cuts at its sites in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, and on Teesside. The company, which owns the rump of the former British Steel, blames a post-financial-crisis construction slump and the cost of new climate change rules from the EU and in the UK. |
| January 2012 | January 2012 |
| Thamesteel, based at Sheerness in Kent, enters administration with the loss of almost 400 jobs. Tata Steel announces a further 110 job losses at its plant at Corby, Northamptonshire. | Thamesteel, based at Sheerness in Kent, enters administration with the loss of almost 400 jobs. Tata Steel announces a further 110 job losses at its plant at Corby, Northamptonshire. |
| November 2012 | November 2012 |
| Tata Steel announces 900 job cuts including almost 600 at its operations in Port Talbot, south Wales, blaming a 25% fall in demand since 2007. Unions call on the government to spend on infrastructure projects and to support British industry in public procurement contracts. | Tata Steel announces 900 job cuts including almost 600 at its operations in Port Talbot, south Wales, blaming a 25% fall in demand since 2007. Unions call on the government to spend on infrastructure projects and to support British industry in public procurement contracts. |
| July 2013 | July 2013 |
| Tata suffers a record £1.2bn loss for the year to March 2013, triggering speculation that it is looking to sell some or all of the UK business it bought in 2007. | Tata suffers a record £1.2bn loss for the year to March 2013, triggering speculation that it is looking to sell some or all of the UK business it bought in 2007. |
| October 2013 | October 2013 |
| Tata Steel cuts almost 500 jobs at its plants in Cumbria, Teesside and Scunthorpe. Once again, it blames falling demand and the cost of green regulations. Tata and the Community union ask the government to support the industry. | Tata Steel cuts almost 500 jobs at its plants in Cumbria, Teesside and Scunthorpe. Once again, it blames falling demand and the cost of green regulations. Tata and the Community union ask the government to support the industry. |
| July 2014 | July 2014 |
| Tata Steel cuts another 400 jobs at Port Talbot, warning that demand and prices will be under pressure for several years and criticising high UK business rates. | Tata Steel cuts another 400 jobs at Port Talbot, warning that demand and prices will be under pressure for several years and criticising high UK business rates. |
| September 2015 | September 2015 |
| Thai-owned SSI mothballs operations at its plant at Redcar, Teesside, ending production after almost 100 years. Redcar enters liquidation the following month with the loss of 2,200 jobs. | Thai-owned SSI mothballs operations at its plant at Redcar, Teesside, ending production after almost 100 years. Redcar enters liquidation the following month with the loss of 2,200 jobs. |
| 16 October 2015 | 16 October 2015 |
| Tata Steel says it will mothball steel mills in Scunthorpe and Scotland and that 1,200 jobs will be lost as a result. The company highlights a flood of cheap Chinese steel into Europe as one of the main causes for the industry’s plight. | Tata Steel says it will mothball steel mills in Scunthorpe and Scotland and that 1,200 jobs will be lost as a result. The company highlights a flood of cheap Chinese steel into Europe as one of the main causes for the industry’s plight. |
| The government, previously reluctant to intervene, launches a flurry of activity, including a visit by Sajid Javid, the business secretary, to Brussels to press the case for action, particularly on cheap Chinese imports, and new procurement guidelines for government departments to buy UK steel where possible. | The government, previously reluctant to intervene, launches a flurry of activity, including a visit by Sajid Javid, the business secretary, to Brussels to press the case for action, particularly on cheap Chinese imports, and new procurement guidelines for government departments to buy UK steel where possible. |
| 19 October 2015 | 19 October 2015 |
| The crisis in the industry mounts as Caparo, the steel business built by the Labour peer Lord Paul, enters administration, putting 1,700 jobs at risk. More than one in six of the steel industry’s already depleted workforce are now in danger of losing their job. | The crisis in the industry mounts as Caparo, the steel business built by the Labour peer Lord Paul, enters administration, putting 1,700 jobs at risk. More than one in six of the steel industry’s already depleted workforce are now in danger of losing their job. |
| 20 October 2015 | 20 October 2015 |
| With the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in Britain for a state visit, Labour MPs attack Javid and accuse the government of failing to press Xi on dumping by Chinese companies of cheap steel in Europe. Javid says there is little the government can do about the plunging steel price. | With the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in Britain for a state visit, Labour MPs attack Javid and accuse the government of failing to press Xi on dumping by Chinese companies of cheap steel in Europe. Javid says there is little the government can do about the plunging steel price. |
| 10 December 2015 | 10 December 2015 |
| Liberty House, run by the metals trader Sanjeev Gupta, buys Caparo’s advanced engineering business, saving 600 jobs. Liberty had snapped up Caparo’s tubes arm and and reopened a hot rolling mill in Newport, south Wales, in October. | Liberty House, run by the metals trader Sanjeev Gupta, buys Caparo’s advanced engineering business, saving 600 jobs. Liberty had snapped up Caparo’s tubes arm and and reopened a hot rolling mill in Newport, south Wales, in October. |
| 22 December 2015 | 22 December 2015 |
| In a highly critical report, parliament’s business, innovation and skills committee says the government reacted too slowly to the steel crisis, leaving the industry permanently damaged. | In a highly critical report, parliament’s business, innovation and skills committee says the government reacted too slowly to the steel crisis, leaving the industry permanently damaged. |
| 24 March 2016 | 24 March 2016 |
| Liberty House buys Tata Steel’s two Lanarkshire steel mills, which were due to be mothballed, in a deal brokered by the Scottish government. | Liberty House buys Tata Steel’s two Lanarkshire steel mills, which were due to be mothballed, in a deal brokered by the Scottish government. |
| 29 March 2016 | 29 March 2016 |
| Union leaders and Stephen Kinnock, MP for Aberavon, fly to Mumbai to meet Tata Steel’s bosses as the Indian company considers the future of its UK steel business. Javid flies to Australia for a cybersecurity roundtable. | Union leaders and Stephen Kinnock, MP for Aberavon, fly to Mumbai to meet Tata Steel’s bosses as the Indian company considers the future of its UK steel business. Javid flies to Australia for a cybersecurity roundtable. |
| 30 March 2016 | 30 March 2016 |
| Related: The crisis in British steel has been 40 years in the making | |
| Tata Steel announces plans to sell its entire UK business, which employs 15,000 people – 4,000 of them at Port Talbot, Britain’s biggest steelworks. Including jobs in the wider supply chain, about 40,000 workers are estimated to depend on the business for work. | |
| The business minister Anna Soubry says the government is looking at all options to save the business as unions accuse it of inaction. Javid flies back from Australia and David Cameron returns from a holiday in Lanzarote as Tata, expressing frustration with the government, warns that a buyer must be found within weeks. Kinnock accuses the government of being “in hock to China”. | The business minister Anna Soubry says the government is looking at all options to save the business as unions accuse it of inaction. Javid flies back from Australia and David Cameron returns from a holiday in Lanzarote as Tata, expressing frustration with the government, warns that a buyer must be found within weeks. Kinnock accuses the government of being “in hock to China”. |
| 31 March 2016 | 31 March 2016 |
| After Soubry leaves the door open for some form of nationalisation of Tata Steel, Cameron says public ownership is not the answer. | |
| 1 April 2016 | 1 April 2016 |
| The European Steel Association accuses the UK government of acting as a ringleader in blocking attempts to regulate cheap Chinese steel entering Europe. | The European Steel Association accuses the UK government of acting as a ringleader in blocking attempts to regulate cheap Chinese steel entering Europe. |
| Javid visits Port Talbot for the first time and is confronted by hundreds of steel workers. The business secretary, under pressure for taking his daughter on his Australian trip, urges Tata to act responsibly and allow time for a buyer to be found. | Javid visits Port Talbot for the first time and is confronted by hundreds of steel workers. The business secretary, under pressure for taking his daughter on his Australian trip, urges Tata to act responsibly and allow time for a buyer to be found. |
| 5 April 2016 | 5 April 2016 |
| Gupta emerges as a potential buyer for Tata Steel but says Port Talbot’s blast furnaces will need to be replaced by arc furnaces for recycling steel instead of making it from scratch. Gupta says Tata Steel’s pension fund could be an obstacle to a deal and calls on the government to support a sale. | Gupta emerges as a potential buyer for Tata Steel but says Port Talbot’s blast furnaces will need to be replaced by arc furnaces for recycling steel instead of making it from scratch. Gupta says Tata Steel’s pension fund could be an obstacle to a deal and calls on the government to support a sale. |
| 6 April 2016 | 6 April 2016 |
| After meeting Tata bosses in Mumbai, Javid says the company will allow time for a buyer to be found and has “no set timeframe” that could lead to a sudden closure. | After meeting Tata bosses in Mumbai, Javid says the company will allow time for a buyer to be found and has “no set timeframe” that could lead to a sudden closure. |
| 11 April 2016 | 11 April 2016 |
| Tata Steel officially starts the process of looking for a buyer. Javid says the government will consider “co-investing on commercial terms” with a buyer in an apparent softening of his line against some form of nationalisation. | Tata Steel officially starts the process of looking for a buyer. Javid says the government will consider “co-investing on commercial terms” with a buyer in an apparent softening of his line against some form of nationalisation. |
| Tata Steel agrees the sale of its UK long products business to the investment group Greybull Capital for £1. The deal, discussed since late December, will revive the British Steel name and secure 4,400 jobs. | Tata Steel agrees the sale of its UK long products business to the investment group Greybull Capital for £1. The deal, discussed since late December, will revive the British Steel name and secure 4,400 jobs. |
| 20 April 2016 | 20 April 2016 |
| Stuart Wilkie, the boss of the Port Talbot plant, seeks investors for a management buyout of the business. | Stuart Wilkie, the boss of the Port Talbot plant, seeks investors for a management buyout of the business. |