A global steel giant headquartered in South Yorkshire has hit out at the HMRC filing of a winding up petition.
Liberty Steel has been under huge pressure since the collapse of major backer Greensill Capital.
A total of 3,000 jobs are understood to be at risk, with a headquarters and manufacturing plants in Rotherham, as well as Liberty Merchant Bar Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire. Operations in the North East, Scotland, West Bromwich and South Wales complete the UK portfolio, with sites in the US and Australia too.
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Headed by Sanjeev Gupta, it had launched a restructuring bid back in May following the loss of the lender that saw former Prime Minister David Cameron’s lobbying brought under scrutiny.
A Liberty Steel spokesperson said: “Our priority has been to protect thousands of jobs in the UK. We are committed to repaying all our creditors and continue to work with all stakeholders around the UK to create a sustainable future for our businesses following the collapse of Greensill Capital.
“Against a very challenging backdrop in the UK with record high energy prices and imports we have provided tens of millions in funding to keep our people in employment and maintain operations to serve customers and strategic supply chains while we complete our refinancing.
"We are in continuous dialogue with all our creditors including HMRC to find an amicable solution that’s in the best interest of all stakeholders. Short term actions that risk destabilising these efforts are not in anyone’s interest, and undermine creditor recovery at a critical stage in our debt restructuring efforts that seek to secure the future of our businesses.”
After shutting down operations during the pandemic, its Greensteel electric arc furnace returned to production in October, operating at night to maximise efficiency.
November saw sell-offs of an aluminium division based in Coventry and Kidderminster.
A spokesperson for the steel unions, Community, Unite and GMB, said: “This action by HMRC threatens thousands of jobs and is a devastating blow to our members and their families. Liberty Steel is a strategically important business, crucial to delivering net zero, and under no circumstances can our plants be allowed to close.
“The trade unions call on GFG and HMRC to get back round the table and hammer out a deal that provides space for the company to refinance. The best route to protect jobs and repay HMRC and other creditors would be to enable the business to continue to trade.
“Our experts have advised us that with the right framework of support Liberty Steel can have a sustainable future. The government has an important role to play in providing that framework and must take urgent action to address our unaffordable energy prices. GFG is the owner and we hold them accountable for their actions, but as we have always said government must be ready to step in should that be required.”
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