China's Jingye Sends Contract Proposals To 3,200 UK Steelworkers

Almost 10 months after British Steel's bankruptcy, the bailout deal is on the verge of completion. British Steel's sale to China's Jingye is due to be completed next week, according to British media reports, after a Chinese industrial firm sent out contract offers to 3,200 employees and told 400 they were no longer needed. Those who would lose their jobs were later notified via letter from the accounting firm EY, which manages the sale as a dedicated government service manager. The letter reads, “Jingye told us that unfortunately she is currently unable to arrange an employment contract for you. However, if this changes in the coming days, Jingye will contact you to discuss possible proposals. "

Uncertainty over the deal arose pending a verdict by the French government, which expressed opposition to the Chinese company that bought British Steel's Hayang plant. The plant is a strategic national asset because it supplies railroad tracks to the French railway network. The risk that the government might veto the Chinese ownership of Hayange was seen as a potential obstacle to buying Jingye, as the plant is one of the few lucrative British Steel divisions.

The union leader condemned the shameful treatment of British Steel employees who were fired. But he urged the steelworkers who had received job offers from the potential new owner of the Jingye Group to accept them. National Union Secretary Sean Baler told the BBC: “We were aware that this process would be ongoing. But what I have never experienced and what is happening today is one of the most poignant, surreal days for British Steel employees. " ever, ever experienced. We've had announcements and we've had job cuts before, but unions and the company have always been in a position to this day to try and do the right thing for everyone at risk. What happened today is a series of emails and phone calls and employees end their careers in an absolutely brutal way. There is only one way to express my attitude - it is absolutely shameful for what is happening today. Many years of faithful service ended with one phone call - don't go back to work. "I've never seen or heard anything like it."