The unions had pitched the idea to keep the blast furnaces working during the transition period, till 2032, The Guardian reported separately...reports Asian Lite News
Tata Steel will reportedly be shutting down its blast furnaces in Port Talbot Steelworks in Wales, United Kingdom, a move that may affect 3,000 jobs, BBC reported citing trade union officials. The company is expected to announce on January 18 whether it is planning to go ahead with the decision.
The decision was made after Tata executives met with the trade unions at the Taj Hotel in London earlier in the day. Tata Steel reportedly rejected a plan formulated by the trade union to keep its blast furnaces running while it made a gradual shift to an electric arc furnace to produce greener steel products to reduce carbon emissions.
The unions had pitched the idea to keep the blast furnaces working during the transition period, till 2032, The Guardian reported separately. In September last year, the UK government had announced a joint investment package with Tata Steel worth £1.25 billion, comprising a massive grant aimed at securing operations at the Port Talbot furnaces. Notably, the UK vertical of Tata Steel has proven to be a loss maker for the past few quarters now. The steelmaker reported a loss of Rs 6,511 crore in the July-September quarter of FY23-24 due to a massive impairment charge it paid, which ran in thousands of crores of rupees, in connection with the Port Talbot units. Tata Steel to shut Port Talbot blast furnaces in UK, about 2,800 jobs at risk Tata Steel to shut Port Talbot blast furnaces in UK, about 2,800 jobs at risk If the Port Talbot furnaces are shut down, the one at Scunthorpe will remain the only blast furnace in the country. However, media reports suggest that it is also staring at a similar fate, and if this speculation holds, the UK will become the only G20 country that cannot produce steel from raw materials.
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