British Steel owner preparing to cut as many as 2,000 jobs, report says

China’s Jingye Group said to considering move as part of switch to using greener electric arc furnaces

British Steel’s Chinese owner is preparing to cut as many as 2,000 jobs as it battles losses believed to be running at £30m a month, according to reports.

The potential cuts, which amount to almost half of the Scunthorpe-based firm’s 4,500 workforce, are part of a switch to greener steel production using electric arc furnaces instead of polluting blast furnaces, which use coke to melt iron ore.