The Scottish Government has not ruled out nationalising the Dalzell steelworks and Lochaber aluminium smelter if the action is needed to save jobs.
Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said the “current plans” were not to take the plants owned by the Gupta Family Group (GFG) Alliance into public ownership, but she did pledge that ministers would “look at all options as required”.
The comments followed Scottish Labour Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Cabinet Secretary Monica Lennon voicing her concerns in Parliament over the “increasingly worrying” outlook for the sites, pointing out that there were “at least 340 jobs” at risk.
Owner Sanjeev Gupta is now being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for suspected fraudulent trading and money laundering within the GFG group, including the financing arrangements made with Greensill Capital.
Gupta has over the last few years acquired a string of steel and aluminium interests globally with the backing of supply chain lender Greensill, which is understood to have provided around £3bn.
Greensill fell into administration in March and stated Gupta’s operation was in “financial difficulty”.
Hyslop said in her statement to Parliament yesterday that it was a “potentially changing situation” when she was pressed by opposition Lennon on the possible impact for Scottish sites.
“Our current plan is not to take any of the sites into public ownership," Hyslop said. "However, as we did when we intervened to save the sites previously, we will look at all options as situations present themselves.
“We are now monitoring the situation, and we are keeping in close contact with the management, workforce and unions at both sites.”
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