Tata is to take steps to cease operations at its steel plant in Port Talbot earlier than planned because of a strike by Unite, workers have been told. The company had been planning to shut down one of the blast furnaces by the end of June and the second one by September. But workers at the site have been told that because of the strike from July 8, it could not guarantee operations would be "safe and stable".
A letter to staff says they will begin preparing to close both furnaces on July 1 with both being closed by July 7. The closure of blast furnace 4 in June would not have triggered the mass redundancies, that would come with the closure of blast furnace 5 in September. However, this action would accelerate all direct, and indirect job losses.
The closure of the furnaces will impact 1,900 staff at Port Talbot and more at other Tata sites. The exact number of indirect job losses is not known but is expected to be many more thousands. READ MORE: Welsh tourist horrifically injured in Greek island crash READ MORE: Man found dead in house starred in Channel 4 documentary as murder investigation launched The Indian steel giant says the Port Talbot site is losing £1m a day and will close the blast furnaces and heavy end, replacing them with a greener electric arc furnace.
The UK Conservative Government has agreed a £500m grant which is says was the only way to secure any jobs at the site, although Labour opposes the proposal. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox si.
