Green Steelmaking Transition Triggers Job Cuts at Tata Steel

Tata Steel has confirmed its intention to cut up to 2,800 job at the Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales, with nearly 90 per cent of redundancies falling in the next 18 months.

The slashes, first reported late yesterday, come as part of a transition to make the steel-making site greener by decommissioning its blast furnaces and replacing them with electric arc furnaces

The Indian steel giant plans to "maximise" voluntary redundancy before seeking any compulsory reductions in workforce and plans to support those laid off with a £130m support package featuring additional training, community support and job-seeker alternatives.

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 funding for short-term support and long-term economic regeneration.

T V Narendran, Tata Steel's chief executive, said: "The course we are putting forward is difficult, but we believe it is the right one.

"Having invested almost £5bn in the UK business since 2007, we must transform at pace to build a sustainable business in the UK for the long-term and our ambitious plan includes the largest capital expenditure in UK steel production in more than a decade, guaranteeing long-term, high-quality steel production in the UK and transforming the Port Talbot facility into one of Europe's premier centres for green steelmaking."

Stephen Kinnock, Labour MP for Aberavon, home of the Port Talbot plant, told Sky News: "Steel is the beating heart of manufacturing and of our entire infrastructure and, of course, of our national security.

"There isn't a single household in my Aberavon constituency that isn't connected to the steelworks in some way, and the impact would be utterly devastating."

By City AM

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