Tata Steel Confirms Closure of Port Talbot Blast Furnaces, 2,800 Jobs at Risk
Company Plans to Transition to Greener Steelmaking Operations, Rejects Union Proposal to Keep Furnaces Open
- Tata Steel has confirmed plans to shut down the blast furnaces at its Port Talbot plant in South Wales, leading to the loss of up to 2,800 jobs.
- The company plans to transition to greener, cheaper steelmaking operations using electric arc furnaces, which make steel from scrap metal.
- The UK government has provided £500m of financial backing for Tata's £1.25bn four-year plan to build the electric arc furnaces.
- The closure of the blast furnaces could leave the UK as the only G20 economy without the ability to make steel from scratch, known as virgin steel.
- Tata Steel rejected a proposal by trade unions that would have kept the blast furnaces open, protecting jobs during the transition.























