The spectre of possible job losses is stalking Britain’s biggest steelworkers today, as the UK government and Tata Steel close in on an agreement to secure the future of the site.
The Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales is home to two of Britain’s four remaining blast furnaces, employing about 4,000 workers.
After months of talks, the government and the Indian-owned company are thought to be close to announcing an aid package to help Port Talbot transition to produce “greener” steel, possibly as soon as today.
That could include a £500m aid package from the UK, with Tata providing about £700m, to switch the plant’s two coal-fired blast furnaces to electric arc versions, which are less polluting and run on zero-carbon electricity.
But the shift could still lead to hefty job losses, with unions angry that they have been locked out of the talks.
Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, a GMB national officer, said: "Government intervention in the steel industry is long overdue, but imposing a programme without proper worker consultation is unacceptable.
“GMB has urged ministers and Tata Steel to have a longer-term view on the decarbonisation of steel.
“It is not a just transition if thousands of jobs are sacrificed in the name of short-term environmental gains.
“We wholeheartedly support the move to modernise and decarbonise the industry, in fact, we have sought this type of investment for years.
“But ignoring technologies outside of electric arc furnaces will mean tens of thousands of people will lose their livelihoods.”
The business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, and the Welsh secretary, David TC Davies, are expected to visit the south Wales site today to announce the deal.
Steelworkers have told the BBC that reports of potential job losses in Port Talbot were “frightening” and called for certainty about a deal to decarbonise. The shadow business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, met steelworkers after reports about the £500m government subsidy to Tata Steel to help it reach net zero.
Reynolds said it seemed ministers were “spending half a billion pounds to make 3,000 people unemployed”.
Tata Steel UK said it was “fully committed to meaningful consultation”.
The agenda • 10am BST: eurozone trade balance for July • 2.15pm BST: US industrial production data for August • 3pm BST: US consumer confidence report from the University of Michigan
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