Hundreds of steelworkers’ jobs were plunged into jeopardy today as bosses triggered a consultation on redundancies.
The 209 staff at Coventry-based Liberty Pressing Solutions face uncertainty after efforts to sell the plant failed.
Previous customers for the factory’s steel included Jaguar Land Rover, Honda, Nissan, BMW, digger-manufacturer JCB and tractor-maker New Holland.
Announcing the latest update on its restructuring and refinancing strategy, Liberty’s parent company Gupta Family Group Alliance said: “Following the announcement in May 2021 that GFG Alliance would be divesting Liberty Pressing Solutions Coventry (LPSC) the Group has actively been seeking potential buyers for the business.
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“LPSC has continued to fulfil customer orders through this period, during which operations were funded through shareholder capital.
“The structural long-term downturn in the UK automotive market has meant that it has not been possible to find a buyer for LPSC, and as a result a formal consultation opened on March 7.”
The Unite union said the Coventry factory could be saved.
National officer Des Quinn said: “Unite believes that this plant can have a viable future.
“We understand that there are potential buyers interested in purchasing the company - Unite urges them to speak to the union as soon as possible.
“Unite is committed to doing everything it can to preserve work and jobs at the factory.”
Liberty’s website outlines the decades of history on which LPS and its relationship with the automotive sector was founded.s
“Liberty Pressing Solutions has acquired over 70 years of expertise manufacturing products for the automotive industry,” it says.
“As a successor of the former Willenhall Motor Radiator Company, the business has been operating on the same site since 2006.
“Liberty Pressing Solutions is a core part of the Liberty Vehicle Products Division, which specialises in the design and manufacture of a range of automotive components.
GFG Alliance was badly hit by the demise of Greensill Capital, its main lender, last year.
The Alliance today said a winding-up petition issued against the firm by HM Revenue and Customs has been withdrawn.
Tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has agreed to repay tens of millions of pounds of tax liabilities, Sky News reported.
GFG’s chief transformation officer Jeffrey Kabel said: “We’re pleased to report good further progress in our negotiations with creditors including UK’s HMRC.
“We are committed to repaying all creditors and this is an important step in enabling us to restructure and achieve long-term refinancing. Our core international businesses have continued to generate strong returns and achieve record production levels despite the sky-high energy costs facing energy-intensive industries across the UK and Europe.
“We will continue to progress our efforts to refocus and refinance our operations for the long-term.”
Unions welcomed the move.
Community’s national officer Alun Davies said: “This is the best route to protect jobs and the deal will increase confidence that GFG is committed to Liberty Steel UK.
“GFG must now make good on promises to refinance Liberty Steel and deliver the investments we need to secure a long-term sustainable future.
“It’s high time the Government stepped up to support Liberty Steel, and all British steelmakers, by taking urgent action to bring our unaffordable energy prices into line with EU competitors.
“Liberty Steel is a strategically important business and has a crucial role to play, producing green steels for a low-carbon economy.”
GMB national officer Charlotte Childs said: “Retracting these winding-up orders will be a massive comfort to our members at Liberty Steel.
“Thousands of jobs will be saved in the short term, but we are far from out of the woods.
“It is right that shareholder investment has been committed to secure the future of jobs and plants at Liberty Steel.
“GMB will now be seeking to continue constructive dialogue with GFG Alliance to ensure the impact of the financial restructuring and transformation package is felt in the right places.”
The Mirror has been campaigning to Save Our Steel since 2015.
