Tories set to hand Tata Steel £500m - but 3,000 steelworker jobs still face axe
The Tories are reportedly set to hand Tata Steel £500million to save the industry in South Wales – but 3,000 of its 8,000 UK staff might still be axed.
Officials are said to be close to a deal with the Indian firm to secure the future of the Port Talbot steelworks. The bailout could see around £500 million of UK public money given to the firm, with the firm’s Indian parent company committing to £700 million worth of investment over several years.
The Port Talbot plant currently employs around 4,000 people - about half of the firm’s UK workforce. But according to Sky News as many as 3,000 UK based staff could still lose their jobs even if the deal goes through.
It would see the firm commit to building electric arc furnaces, which are less labour-intensive. And officials are said to have accepted job losses would be inevitable as the steel industry works to reduce carbon emissions.
The Department for Business and Trade declined to comment on ongoing negotiations.
Fears for 800 British Steel jobs amid siren warnings for industry's future
A spokesperson for Community, the steelworkers’ union, said: “We remain in discussions with the company and the unions have not agreed any decarbonisation strategy for Port Talbot. We continue to support a solution that will maintain blast furnace production and safeguard the future for all the UK plants. We are ready to use all means at our disposal to protect jobs and our vital strategic industry.”
A spokesperson for Tata Steel said in a statement: "Tata Steel is continuing to discuss with the UK government a framework for continuity and decarbonisation of steelmaking in the UK amidst very challenging underlying business conditions, given that several of its heavy-end assets are approaching the end of life. Given the financially constrained position of our UK business, such significant change is only possible with government investment and support, as also seen in other steelmaking countries in Europe where governments are actively supporting companies in de-carbonisation initiatives."
The Mirror has been campaigning to Save Our Steel since 2015.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
