Severfield strike action: implications for UK bridge and gigafactory project teams
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
More than 100 GMB members at Severfield’s Lostock, Bolton plant – including welders, platers and machine operators – will stage three strike days from 16–24 February after being offered a 0% pay rise. The action follows an overtime ban and comes as new chief executive Paul McNerney pursues a return to profit after a £17.5m pre-tax loss on £450.9m revenue, linked to weld issues on HS2 and National Highways bridges. Severfield has just completed 23,000 tonnes of structural steelwork for Agratas’ Somerset gigafactory Building One, a 525m × 167m × 34m unit, which is not expected to be affected.
Technical Brief
- Weld quality issues on HS2 and National Highways bridges have driven substantial remedial and financial exposure.
- Reported pre-tax loss deepened by £5.6m in the six months to 27 September 2025.
- More than 90% of GMB members at Lostock backed industrial action in the strike ballot.
- Workforce involved includes welders, platers and machine operators critical to heavy structural fabrication throughput.
- Strike pattern: one full day on 16 February, then two full days on 23–24 February.
- Overtime ban at Lostock immediately constrains surge capacity for complex bridge and large shed packages.
- For major steel bridge and industrial shed projects, contractor labour relations now form a key programme risk item.
Our Take
In our database, Severfield’s recent closure of Severfield Modular Solutions and the appointment of a new CFO both point to a wider restructuring, so strike action at the Bolton and Lostock sites lands at a moment of heightened financial and organisational stress for the group.
Because Severfield is a key steelwork supplier on Agratas’ Somerset battery gigafactory, any disruption to fabrication or erection for Building One could ripple into programme and interface risk for Laing O’Rourke and other tier‑one contractors already active on large National Highways and HS2 packages.
The reported pre‑tax losses against nearly £451m of annual revenue suggest tight margins, which likely constrain Severfield’s room to move on pay at Bolton and Lostock and may encourage clients such as Agratas and Sir Robert McAlpine to scrutinise contingency and delay‑cost allocations on current and upcoming UK steelwork packages.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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