Tata Steel has snubbed unions and closed one of two blast furnaces at its biggest plant under plans to switch to a greener form of production. The company said it had ceased operations of blast furnace 5 in Port Talbot, south Wales, as part of its restructuring programme to stem “unsustainable” losses of more than £1 million a day.
The decommissioning of the blast furnace and associated facilities started immediately after the last liquid iron had been produced. The second blast furnace is due to be shut down in September.
Unions are opposed to the plans, which will lead to the loss of about 2,800 jobs. They had urged Tata to wait until the outcome of the general election.
Rajesh Nair, Tata Steel’s UK chief executive, said: “All those who have been involved in operating and maintaining blast furnace 5 since it started operations in 1959 should take a great deal of pride in the part they have played in underpinning the UK manufacturing industry for so many years. Our challenge is now to focus on a more sustainable and competitive future for our business that will ensure the continuation of steelmaking in the UK for generations to come.”
Tata said it would make every effort to mitigate the impact of the transformation on affected employees and the local community. It said it had put forward the most favourable financial package of support it had ever offered, including facilities for training and re-skilling, alongside finance for small and medium-sized businesses through the UK Steel Enterprise regeneration and job-creation scheme.
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Last week Onay Kasab, the national lead officer for the Unite union, which announced a strike in June over the closures, told the BBC: “We have said to Tata, again and again, ‘Wait for a general election, wait for a new Labour government.’ ”
Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, said the union was “fighting for the future of the steel industry” and added that Unite had secured “serious investment” from Labour to safeguard jobs. “Tata putting out a statement to shut or pause its blast furnaces three months earlier than they intended to is the latest in a long line of threats that won’t deter us. The Unite campaign is not about selling jobs, it’s about securing the long-term future of steelmaking in this country for thousands of workers in Port Talbot and south Wales.”
