Major unions in the UK are planning to hold talks with Liberty Steel to address the job security of around 5,000 steelworkers after one of the steelmaker’s key financial backers, Greensill Capital filed for bankruptcy on Monday.
According to media reports, a meeting of the trade unions with Liberty’s Sanjeev Gupta is set for Mar 9, where they are expected to learn more about what Greensill’s insolvency means for Liberty’s businesses in the UK. However, a spokesperson of the steelmaker told the media on Monday that the company had enough funds, and its plans to refinance capital were going as planned.
Liberty Steel is UK’s third-largest steelmaker. A part of the GFG Alliance, which consists of steel and aluminum operations across the world, the steelmaker operates through nine plants in the UK and employs 3,000 workers, with the remaining 2,000 people working in other GFG Alliance sites across the country.
Liberty Steel’s key source of supply chain funding came from Greensill Capital. In the first week of March 2021, the financier started preparing for administration after its key-backer Credit Suisse AG shut down close to $10bn worth of funds.