Tata Steel UK has decided to shut down two high-emission blast furnaces and coke ovens at Port Talbot in a phased manner. The first blast furnace will be closed by mid-2024 and the remaining heavy end assets to be shut down in the second half of this year.
The proposal also includes a wider restructuring of other locations and functions across the company, including the intended closure of the Continuous Annealing Processing Line in March 2025.
The transition will result in up to 2,800 potential job losses across the business out of which about 2,500 roles in next 18 months. Tata Steel expects that a further 300 roles could be impacted in three years due to consolidation of cold rolling assets in Llanwern once the required investments are completed at Port Talbot.
The company is committed to maximising voluntary redundancy before seeking any compulsory reductions, said Tata Steel in a statement on Friday.
Tata Steel and the UK and Welsh governments have also established a dedicated Transition Board to support potentially affected employees, contractor employees and their communities, with £100 million in funding for short-term support and long-term economic regeneration.
Transition strategy
T V Narendran, Managing Director, Tata Steel said the proposed transition is difficult, but it is the right one. Having invested almost £5 billion in the UK business since 2007, it is important to build a sustainable business in the UK for the long-term by transforming the Port Talbot facility into one of Europe’s premier centres for green steelmaking, he said.
Tata Steel will offer a comprehensive support package to mitigate the impact of any anticipated job losses, including helping employees to retrain and find new jobs, he said. The company will now begin a formal information sharing and consultation process with employees and their representatives on the proposals said the company.
The company will continue to operate the hot strip mill, downstream and steel processing centres would continue to serve customers by utilising imported semi-finished steel from Tata Steel plants in the Netherlands and India as well as other select strategic suppliers, it said.
The company plans to operate the proposed Electric Arc Furnace by 2027 with an investment of £1.25 billion in Port Talbot.
The proposed investment is supported by the UK government, which has committed up to £500 million to enable the transformation. Tata Steel will invest £750 million in the project.