Upto 400 employees of the British Steel will lose their jobs with respect to its worldwide operations, the company has announced.

This is a part of the strategy of the company to streamline itself and job profiles, the company has said. There are about 5000 people employed with the company globally.

The company has further announced that employees primarily in the v managerial, professional and administrative roles will be retrenched from its operations in the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands.

The news was described as “a body-blow to the workforce” by the Community trade union.

While making the announcement, the executive chairman of British Steel, Roland Junck, said that he was feeling “sad” while making the announcement of the retrenchments.

“However, it’s vital our transformation continues so we can build a sustainable future for the whole business, nearly 5,000 employees and many more people in the supply chain,” he said.

“We’re confident these proposals will help achieve this.”

While giving a call for the UK government to come out with polices and strategies to support the steel industry in the country, the Community union said in a statement that the current period is “challenging times for UK steelmakers”.

“This announcement will come as a body-blow to the workforce who have already made huge sacrifices to make the business sustainable,” the union said.

“It is particularly disappointing the company has chosen to cut jobs so soon after celebrating a second successful year and first quarter profits of £21m.”

Greybull Capital had purchased assets from Tata Steel in 2016 which led to the formation of British Steel. The company has production sites in Teesside, Cumbria and North Yorkshire in the UK and it also employs about 4,000 people at its Scunthorpe plant.

The locations or plants that would have to bear the brunt of the retrenchment have not yet been confirmed by the company.

(Adapted from BBC.com)