British authorities appealed for time Wednesday to save the country's biggest steel maker after parent company Tata Steel said it couldn't promise to keep plants open while it seeks a buyer.
The group employs around 15,000 staff in Britain, including the country's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in Wales.
After a meeting at the company's headquarters in Mumbai, Tata's board said late on Tuesday it would study all possibilities for restructuring the British unit, including selling it "in whole or in parts," because of the deteriorating performance of the business.
In a sign of the worsening political fallout from the decision, Prime Minister David Cameron's office said he would chair a meeting of key ministers today to underscore his commitment to a sustainable future for steel in Britain.
But Britain's government refused the demands of the opposition Labour Party to recall Parliament from Easter recess to discuss the crisis.
UK Business Minister Anna Soubry said that the government is considering "all options," including management and unions participating in a takeover. When asked about nationalizing the plants, she said this would be difficult because of rules against state aid for business.
"We want to establish a good period so we can sell it on," she told the BBC. "That is our priority, to look for a buyer. But we are being realistic about the state of the industry."
Britain's steel industry has been hit hard by cheap Chinese imports, which have depressed prices, and manufacturers have asked the government and European Union to impose anti-dumping duties. Tata Steel, which operates the country's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in south Wales, is losing 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) a day in its U.K. operations.
Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of the Community union, appealed for a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron.
"Tata Steel withdrawing completely from the U.K. risks destroying our entire steel industry," he said. "That would be a disaster both for those communities reliant on steel jobs and our entire industrial base."
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