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Steel giant Tata is to press ahead with plans to close blast furnaces at its plant in Port Talbot, south Wales, threatening the loss of more than 3,000 jobs, sources have said.
There have been fears of heavy job losses, especially at the plant in Port Talbot, South Wales, under moves to move to a greener form of steelmaking to cut emissions and stem financial losses.
The steelworkers’ union Community, had urged Tata to reconsider its plans to move Port Talbot to an electric arc furnace-only site, and to look at alternative ways of decarbonising the works in a way that protects jobs.
The Port Talbot plant is the largest steelworks in the UK, it currently employs 4,000 of the company’s 8,000-strong UK workforce.
The move would see 75 per cent of the workers lose their jobs.
Unions were meeting the company on Thursday after presenting alternative proposals aimed at saving jobs in Port Talbot, south Wales.
Sources said Tata rejected the plan and were pressing ahead with proposals for a greener form of steelmaking to cut emissions and stem financial losses.
Unions will consult their members on how to respond to job losses, with industrial action not being ruled out.
Sources said Tata accepted a union plea to keep the hot strip mill open over a transition period, supporting hundreds more jobs.
A Tata Steel spokesperson said ahead of the meeting: “We have recently announced a joint agreement between Tata Steel and UK Government for a proposal to invest in state-of-the art Electric Arc Furnace steelmaking in Port Talbot.
“We are committed to meaningful information sharing and consultation with our trade union partners about the plan to develop sustainable steelmaking in the UK and to find solutions for concerns they may have.
“While those discussions are ongoing it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
This is a breaking news story… more to follow.