Britain’s steel sector crisis intensified on Friday as its second-largest steelmaker, SSI UK, went into liquidation after mothballing its Redcar plant in northeast England earlier this week and axing 1,700 jobs, Reuters reported. The decision to liquidate the Thai-owned company, confirmed by unions and sources close to the matter, puts another 300 jobs at risk as the company employs 2,000 people directly. SSI UK has been hit by cheap imports, especially from the world’s top steel producer China, and a slump in steel prices, which it expected would continue in the short term.
