Tata Steel bosses have raised concerns about the impact the UK general election on July 4 could have on the £1.25 billion plans at the Port Talbot facility.
The company said it is “concerned” following media reports on Monday, June 10, about the heavy asset closure and restructuring program. which was outlined earlier this year.
Yesterday, Labor reiterated calls for Tata Steel to wait until the party comes into government before shutting down its blast furnaces, which will cost thousands of jobs in South Wales.
Tata Steel is moving to a greener form of production, using an electric arc furnace, which requires fewer workers, putting jobs at risk.
Visiting Tata Steel in Port Talbot on Monday, senior Labor figures called on the company to delay the closure of all blast furnaces.
Instead, they urged the company to wait for a possible Labor government next month so new talks can take place, in the hope the company adopts a union plan to keep one furnace on while the transition to green steelmaking takes place .
The visit came as steelworkers said they would ban overtime as part of industrial action to protest job cuts that started on June 18.
Tata Steel is concerned about the consequences of the general elections
In a statement, Tata Steel said: “We are therefore concerned to read UK media reports suggesting that the £1.25 billion investment, the largest in many decades in UK steelmaking, could be at risk due to policy differences that have voiced by the Conservatives and Labour. parties, during the current election period.
“We urge the current and upcoming post-election government to adhere to the agreed terms of the £500 million support package for the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) project, announced in September 2023.
“This project has been developed to ensure the production of high-quality, low-emission steel in Port Talbot, sustaining primary steel production in Britain and creating the potential for a future green manufacturing cluster in South Wales.
‘Port Talbot’s current heavy assets are approaching the end of their lives, are operationally unstable and are resulting in unsustainable financial losses.
Tata
“The coke ovens, a crucial facility for primary steel production, had to be closed in March 2024 as operations became unfeasible and unsafe.
“The company is therefore forced to continue with its plans to decommission blast furnace #5 at the end of June, followed by the decommissioning of blast furnace #4 at the end of September.
“The downstream assets will continue to serve customers using imported semi-finished steel until the new EAF is built and put into service.”
Tata Steel added that it completed an “exhaustive” seven-month process of consultation with unions on all options in April.
The conclusion was that the continuity of Blast Furnace No. 4 during the transition is “not technically, operationally or financially viable”, endangering the EAF construction and delaying the transition by at least two years.
Tata Steel also said that to mitigate the impact of the announced restructuring, a “generous voluntary redundancy program” has been developed and is being offered to affected employees.
The UK Government’s proposed grant funding is earmarked for the construction of the new EAF, which is “critical to securing the long-term supply of steel for Tata Steel’s downstream assets in the UK and protecting 5,000 jobs in several Tata Steel UK locations, the company said.
It also said this is not related to the “ongoing financial losses and instability of the existing heavy assets, the closure of which is now underway and unchangeable.”
Tata Steel added: “We are therefore concerned by the UK media reports since yesterday, as further political uncertainty over the timing and form of the subsidy will affect the EAF project and the long-term future of steel production at Port Talbot. will significantly jeopardize.”
By CityAM
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