3,000 jobs are at jeopardy when Tata Steel closes its blast furnace in Britain: Report

3,000 jobs are at jeopardy when Tata Steel closes its blast furnace in Britain: Report

3,000 jobs are at jeopardy when Tata Steel closes its blast furnace in Britain: Report

According to reports, Tata Steel turned down a trade union's proposal to maintain its blast furnaces while gradually switching to electric arc furnaces to provide greener steel products and lower carbon emissions.

According to reports, Tata Steel turned down a trade union's proposal to maintain its blast furnaces while gradually switching to electric arc furnaces to provide greener steel products and lower carbon emissions (representative picture).

According to trade union sources cited by the BBC, Tata Steel plans to shut its blast furnace at the Port Talbot Steelworks in Wales, United Kingdom. This move might potentially impact up to 3,000 employment. On January 18, the business is anticipated to make an announcement on its plans to proceed with this choice.

Following a meeting between Tata management and trade unions earlier in the day at the Taj Hotel in London, a decision was made. According to reports, Tata Steel turned down a trade union's proposal to maintain its blast furnaces while gradually switching to electric arc furnaces to provide greener steel products and lower carbon emissions. Separately, The Guardian revealed that during a transition phase, unions have proposed to keep the blast furnaces operating until 2032.

The report's assertions could not be independently verified by Moneycontrol.

The UK government and Tata Steel agreed a £1.25 billion joint investment package in September of last year. A significant portion of the funding was intended to secure operations at the Port Talbot furnaces.

Notably, over the last several quarters, Tata Steel's UK vertical has proven to be a losing enterprise. Due to significant impairment charges incurred for Port Talbot plants, the steelmaker recorded a loss of Rs 6,511 crore during the July–September quarter of fiscal 2023–24, amounting to hundreds of crores.

The Scunthorpe furnace will continue to be the only blast furnace in the nation in the event that the Port Talbot furnaces shut. But media sources indicate that it is headed for a similar destiny; if these rumors are correct, the UK will be the only G20 nation unable to create steel using raw materials.