Tata Steel to shut UK blast furnaces, 2,800 to lose jobs

London, January 19

Tata Steel on Friday said it will close its two blast furnaces in Britain by the end of this year, with the loss of up to 2,800 jobs at its Port Talbot steelworks in Wales.

The closures are part of India-owned Tata Steel’s plan to turn around its loss-making UK steel-making business by switching to lower carbon electric arc furnaces, a proposal backed by £500 million of government money.

To provide £130m support package

• The closures are part of the company’s plan to turn around its loss-making UK steel-making business by switching to lower carbon electric arc furnaces, a proposal backed by £500 million of government money
• The company will start a consultation process as part of the restructuring and said it would try to maximise voluntary redundancies

Tata Steel said about 2,500 roles were likely to go in the next 18 months, with 2,800 jobs affected overall. It will start a consultation process as part of the restructuring and said it 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.”

Tata Steel employs more than 8,000 people in the UK, but the warning that there could be 3,000 redundancies came in September when the government announced its funding package to safeguard 5,000 jobs.

Trade unions Community, Unite and GMB said in a separate statement they rejected the Tata Steel plan and would consult members on next steps, including industrial action.

The electric arc furnaces are operated by fewer workers compared to the blast furnaces and the confirmation of the job losses is a major blow for the area, where Tata Steel is a major employer. Tata said it would offer a £130 million support package to help affected employees retrain and find new jobs. — Reuters

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