British Steel deal could see job losses with new ‘productivity drive’

The new potential buyer of British Steel has announced plans for a ‘productivity drive’ in the event of the deal taking place.

The Turkish Armed Forces Assistance Fund, known as Oyak and owned by investment firm Ataer Holdings, reached a tentative agreement to buy British Steel on Friday (August 16).

If successful, the deal would see the Turkish pension fund take over the steel giant, which employs 5,000 people.

Oyak’s head of mining metallurgy Toker Ozcan declined to comment on job losses and told the Financial Times: “I am not focused on headcount but on productivity.”

He added that productivity at British Steel’s main Scunthorpe plant was low compared with other European steel plants, saying: “We will take productivity to where it needs to be.”

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