Tata Steel to cut 2,800 UK jobs, shut down 2 blast furnaces at Port Talbot
The closures are part of the company’s plan to turn around its loss-making UK steelmaking business by switching to lower-carbon electric arc furnaces.
Steelmaker Tata Steel said on Friday that it will shut down its two blast furnaces at its Port Talbot steelworks in Wales, Britain by the end of this year, which will result in the loss of up to 2,800 jobs.
The closures are part of the India-owned company’s plan to turn around its loss-making UK steelmaking business by switching to lower-carbon electric arc furnaces.
The electric arc furnaces are operated by fewer workers compared to the blast furnaces.
“Port Talbot's two high-emission blast furnaces and coke ovens would close in a phased manner” this year, the steelmaker said in a statement.
About 2,500 jobs were likely to go in the next 18 months, with 2,800 jobs affected overall, it added.
The steelmaker will start a consultation process as part of the restructuring and would try to maximise voluntary redundancies.
“The course we are putting forward is difficult, but we believe it is the right one," Tata Steel chief executive TV Narendran said. “We must transform at pace to build a sustainable business in the UK for the long-term.”
“Our ambitious plan includes the largest capital expenditure in UK steel production in more than a decade, guaranteeing long-term, high-quality steel production in the UK and transforming the Port Talbot facility into one of Europe's premier centres for green steelmaking,” Narendran also said.
More than 8,000 people are employed at Tata Steel in the UK.
Trade unions Community, Unite and GMB said that they rejected the Tata Steel plan and would consult members on next steps, including industrial action, according to a report by Reuters.
Tata Steel also said that it would offer a £130 million support package to help affected employees retrain and find new jobs.
Earlier, the Mumbai-based conglomerate had threatened to shut the plant unless it received state aid to help decarbonise production and cut emissions.
Last year, the UK government had provided £500 million ($634 million) to fund the production of “greener” steel at the country's biggest steelworks, while saying that 3,000 jobs were still at risk.
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Business NewsCompaniesNewsTata Steel to cut 2,800 UK jobs, shut down 2 blast furnaces at Port Talbot
First Published:19 Jan 2024, 07:42 PM IST
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