Tata Steel may cut thousands of jobs in Wales: Report

Tata Steel is planning to cut around 3000 jobs at a plant in Wales in the UK, AFP reported on Thursday (January 18) citing sources. The news agency said that the Indian steel giant is set to close two blast furnaces at the Port Talbot Steelworks and will announce this on Friday. The reported closure of the blast furnaces will result in more than one-third of the staff losing their jobs. The report has come following talks between the company and the unions.

AFP said that unions described Tata Steel's decision as "a crushing blow".

In a statement, Tata Steel said that it had "been engaging regularly and constructively with... trades union colleagues and their advisors for some time about the best way forward to create a sustainable green steel future for Tata Steel in the UK."

"When we have any formal announcement to make about our proposals for the future, we will always share these with our employees first," it added.

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The steel industry is struggling with the issue of "greener" production of steel. Last year the UK government provided funds of GBP 500 million (USD 634 million) to encourage the production of steel with more environment-friendly methods. The government, however, had said that 3000 jobs were at risk in spite of the funding. The number came down from an initial 8000 after 5000 jobs were safeguarded because of funding for an electric furnace.

'Crushing blow'

"Large-scale job losses would be a crushing blow to Port Talbot and UK manufacturing in general," Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, a senior official at the GMB union, said Thursday as quoted by AFP.

"It doesn't have to be this way. Unions provided a realistic, costed alternative that would rule out all compulsory redundancies.

"This plan appears to have fallen on deaf ears and now steelworkers and their families will suffer," she added in a statement.

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The Port Talbot steelworks is the single biggest carbon emitter in the UK. The British government has been trying to support Tata Steel and British Steel, a company run by a Chinese group to replace the blast furnaces causing the pollution.

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Tata Steel has already said that in the UK, it would need state aid to take steps towards decarbonisation and cutting emissions.

(With inputs from agencies)