Steel company's only UK plant could close
A steel company has announced it could close its only UK plant, putting about 180 jobs at risk.
Union Electric Steel has launched a consultation on ending production at its site in Gateshead, which has been making steel for more than 150 years.
Bosses said the business had been losing money for the past three years, due to lack of demand for products manufactured in the UK, high energy costs and the ongoing effects of Brexit.
Will Garrett, managing director at Union Electric Steel, said the proposal was at "a very early stage" and "may not go ahead".
As part of the consultation, Union Electric Steel said it was engaging with unions and staff to explore all options.
The factory was originally for the Davy Roll Company before it was acquired in 1999 by Union Electric Steel.
Mr Garrett said the firm had an order book for 2025 and would "continue to operate as usual" throughout the consultation period.
He said the "proposal is at a very early stage, and depending on the outcome of these investigations, may not go ahead".
The plant would not close before 31 December, he added.
MP for Gateshead Central and Whickham Mark Ferguson has urged the company to "think again" and "do the right thing" by the staff.
"I urge the bosses at Union Electric Steel to meet with us as a matter of urgency to explore every possible avenue, to prevent a decision that would be bad for Gateshead and bad for British steelmaking," he said.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said the announcement was "incredibly disappointing, not least when the American owners say it has an order book until the end of the year".
Ferguson and McGuinness both said they would meet with the managing director at the factory and unions in the next few days.
"Starting today we shall explore every option to find a new future for Union Electric Steel in the North East and for every person who works there," McGuinness added.
Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas here.
Service centre to produce forklift truck parts
'Steelworkers are quitting because of uncertainty'
Union Electric Steel
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Could 76-seat, two-class American Airlines jets soon be based at Harrisburg Int'l Airport?
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — It still has fewer flights and higher fares than larger airports, but that has been changing at Harrisburg International Airport, which also has something few other airports its size have: an airline's maintenance and crew base. Since 2022, Piedmont Airlines, which flies the 50-seat ERJ-145s commonly seen at the airport ('ERJ' stands for 'Embraer regional jet'), has based dozens of pilots and flight attendants at the airport, complementing a maintenance base that opened years earlier. Piedmont — which is headquartered in Salisbury, Maryland, and is a subsidiary of American Airlines — also has a Harrisburg-based human resources team. The Harrisburg presence means a lot of direct jobs and — although this part is harder to quantify — indirectly perhaps some flights that might not otherwise exist, because American has to route planes through Harrisburg for maintenance and to get its people to and from work. For perspective, Delta operates three daily flights to its Atlanta hub, which is the world's busiest airport, according to an abc27 analysis of Cirium schedule data; American operates seven daily flights to Charlotte. (Delta, operating larger aircraft, offers about half as many seats to Atlanta as American offers to Charlotte despite having fewer than half as many flights.) But there was an important potential problem for Piedmont's future — and thus for the future of its base in Harrisburg: Manufacturers haven't produced 50-seat jets in years, and airlines have been phasing them out in favor of larger regional jets, which passengers generally find to be more comfortable and airlines generally find to be more economical to operate. Piedmont currently operates 69 ERJ-145s, which are on average almost 22 years old, according to an abc27 analysis of Cirium airline fleet data. That meant one of two things: Sooner or later, either the airline would have to either phase in new planes — or phase itself out of existence, as other regional airlines have done (most recently Silver Airways just Wednesday, which once flew small planes branded 'Continental Express' for United's predecessor Continental Airlines). Fortunately for Piedmont — and by extenstion, for Harrisburg — the far better outcome is emerging: Piedmont announced it'll get 76-seat Embraer 175s, known as E175s, beginning in 2028. Unlike the current all-economy 50-seat jets, Piedmont's E175s — like others already flown for American by other regional airlines — will have 12 business-class seats in addition to 64 economy seats. 'So seeing that they're getting an upgrade in aircraft that allows them to continue their mission of flying for American and being part of the Central Pennsylvania community is really good news,' Scott Miller, Harrisburg International Airport's spokesman, said. 'The expansion represents a significant investment by parent company American Airlines Group,' Piedmont said in a statement of the 45 eventual E175s it expects to receive. During the transition, the airline plans to continues operating its 50-seat jets 'well into the 2030s,' the statement said. 'They provide all of our service to Philadelphia, to Boston, as well as some to Charlotte,' Scott Miller said of Piedmont. 'So upgrading to larger aircraft — more comfortable aircraft — is a huge benefit for the airport, for the region and for those who fly American.' Download the abc27 News+ app on your Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Apple TV devices Harrisburg is just one of three crew bases for Piedmont, alongside much larger Philadelphia and Charlotte, which are both American Airlines hubs. Piedmont has maintenance bases at those three airports plus Salisbury; Albany, New York; and in Virginia, Richmond and Roanoke. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
35 minutes ago
Trump is expected to sign a measure blocking California's vehicle emissions rules
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump is expected to sign a measure Thursday that blocks California's first-in-the-nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, a White House official told The Associated Press. The resolution Trump plans to sign, which Congress approved last month, aims to quash the country's most aggressive attempt to phase out gas-powered cars. He also plans to approve measures to overturn state policies curbing tailpipe emissions in certain vehicles and smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks. The timing of the signing was confirmed Wednesday by a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to share plans not yet public. The development comes as the Republican president is mired in a clash with California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, over Trump's move to deploy troops to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. It's the latest in an ongoing battle between the Trump administration and heavily Democratic California over everything from tariffs to the rights of LGBTQ+ youth and funding for electric vehicle chargers. 'If it's a day ending in Y, it's another day of Trump's war on California,' Newsom spokesperson Daniel Villaseñor said in an email. "We're fighting back." According to the White House official, Trump is expected to sign resolutions that block California's rule phasing out gas-powered cars and ending the sale of new ones by 2035. He will also kill rules that phase out the sale of medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles and cut tailpipe emissions from trucks. The president is scheduled to sign the measures and make remarks during an event at the White House on Thursday morning. Newsom, who is considered a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, and California officials contend that what the federal government is doing is illegal and said the state plans to sue. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin are expected to attend, along with members of Congress and representatives from the energy, trucking and gas station industries. The signings come as Trump has pledged to revive American auto manufacturing and boost oil and gas drilling. The move will also come a day after the Environmental Protection Agency proposed repealing rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. Zeldin said it would remove billions of dollars in costs for industry and help 'unleash' American energy. California, which has some of the nation's worst air pollution, has been able to seek waivers for decades from the EPA, allowing it to adopt stricter emissions standards than the federal government. In his first term, Trump revoked California's ability to enforce its standards, but President Joe Biden reinstated it in 2022. Trump has not yet sought to revoke it again. Republicans have long criticized those waivers and earlier this year opted to use the Congressional Review Act, a law aimed at improving congressional oversight of actions by federal agencies, to try to block the rules. That's despite a finding from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, that California's standards cannot legally be blocked using the Congressional Review Act. The Senate parliamentarian agreed with that finding. California, which makes up roughly 11% of the U.S. car market, has significant power to sway trends in the auto industry. About a dozen states signed on to adopt California's rule phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars. The National Automobile Dealers Association supported the federal government's move to block California's ban on gas-powered cars, saying Congress should decide on such a national issue, not the state. The American Trucking Associations said the rules were not feasible and celebrated Congress' move to block them. Chris Spear, the CEO of the American Trucking Associations, said in a statement Wednesday: 'This is not the United States of California.' It was also applauded by Detroit automaker General Motors, which said it will 'help align emissions standards with today's market realities.' 'We have long advocated for one national standard that will allow us to stay competitive, continue to invest in U.S. innovation, and offer customer choice across the broadest lineup of gas-powered and electric vehicles,' the company said in a statement. Dan Becker with the Center for Biological Diversity, in anticipation of the president signing the measures, said earlier Thursday that the move would be 'Trump's latest betrayal of democracy.' 'Signing this bill is a flagrant abuse of the law to reward Big Oil and Big Auto corporations at the expense of everyday people's health and their wallets,' Becker said in a statement.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tariffs could hit bike shops hardest
(WHTM) — The latest tariffs on imported aluminum and steel are expected to impact one local business model more than any: bicycle shops. When it comes to imported metals, bikes just might top the list. Think aluminum frames and steel petals. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'The majority of the bikes we sell are gonna be made out of aluminum,' said Michael Haas, a bike shop manager. 'But anything we get in framewise is going to come from abroad.' The biggest brand his shop offers, Specialized, is headquarter in California but manufactured in Taiwan and other countries. That starts to add up with President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs on imported metals. While bike shops say they started seeing the impact of thee tariffs about a month ago, most of the bikes consumers see in stock have been in the country for two, three or four months. So, tariffs may not have affected the prices of what's in store just yet. Haas recommends buying now before they do. 'It's definitely not fun for the customer when they see prices raised,' Haas said. 'So, we are doing as much as we can.' PA House passes bill requiring American-made steel in tax-payer funded projects Shops like his are trying to absorb the costs, but consumers will start to see prices rise starting this summer. E-bikes are especially hard hit. But just like with many things, bikes won't have tariffs if they are made in the United States with American steel. That could take a while to happen. Find more stories on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
