The UK's biggest steelworks will shutdown the final furnace at its plant after more than 100 years of production, leading to thousands of job losses across South Wales.
Tata Steel has begun the process of winding down operations at blast furnace 4 at Port Talbot and engineers have already started altering the raw materials poured into the top of the furnace to prepare for decommissioning. Blast furnace 5 was closed in July.
The closure is part of Tata’s transition towards a greener form of steelmaking as it plans to build a £1.25 billion electric arc furnace for the Port Talbot site by 2027, which produces steel by melting scrap metal.
The new Labour government agreed a taxpayer-backed deal earlier this month for the Port Talbot plant in which it will provide £500 million towards the construction of the new electric arc furnace at the site, with the plant’s Indian owners, Tata Steel, paying £750 million.
Roy Rickhuss, the general secretary of Community Union, which represents steelworkers, said: “Today marks an incredibly sad and poignant day for the British steel industry and for the communities in and around Port Talbot which are so intricately connected to blast furnace steelmaking. It’s also a moment of huge frustration – it simply didn’t have to be this way. Last year, Community and GMB published a credible alternative plan for Port Talbot which would have ensured a fair transition to green steelmaking and prevented compulsory redundancies. Tata’s decision to reject that plan will go down as an historic missed opportunity. The closure of blast furnace 4 marks the end of an era, but this is not the end for Port Talbot. We will never stop fighting for our steel industry and our communities in south Wales.”
At Port Talbot more than 2,000 workers have expressed an interest in taking voluntary redundancy and will receive an enhanced deal. Those granted it will be offered 2.8 weeks of salary for every year of service up to 25 years, with a minimum payment of £15,000.