• Port Talbot steelworks to receive £500m of taxpayer cash
• Tata Steel to invest £1.25bn, causing potential for 3,000 redundancies
• Government to protect over 5,000 jobs across U.K.
Tata Steel, the Indian conglomerate that owns Britain’s largest steel mill, Port Talbot, has been given £500m of taxpayer money to retool the site to produce ‘greener’ steel. This investment is expected to reduce U.K. carbon emissions by 1.5% and will cost £1.25bn in total.
However, the new processes will require fewer jobs and Tata will consult on a restructuring that could lead to 3,000 redundancies. Unite, the union representing the workers, described the plans as a “disgrace” and vowed to fight them.
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch defended the plans, saying the Government “is backing our steel sector” and that the proposal would “save thousands of jobs in the long term”. She added that the deal has the potential to safeguard over 5,000 jobs across the U.K. and that the Government was “ready to step in to protect this world class manufacturing industry and to support a green growth hub in South Wales”.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt added his support to the plans, saying it was “right that we are ready to step in to protect this world class manufacturing industry and to support a green growth hub in South Wales”.
Overall, the Government is investing £500m of taxpayer money to retool Port Talbot steelworks to produce ‘greener’ steel, which could reduce U.K. carbon emissions by 1.5%. However, the new processes will require fewer jobs and could result in 3,000 redundancies.
The Government believes that the proposal will “save thousands of jobs in the long term” and has the potential to safeguard over 5,000 jobs across the U.K. Unions have criticised the plans, saying they are a “disgrace” and the Chancellor and Business Secretary have both voiced their support for the plans.
Thousands of workers at Britain’s biggest steel mill, Port Talbot, are facing redundancy under a taxpayer-funded Net Zero plan. The Telegraph has the story.
Tata Steel will be given £500m of taxpayer cash to fund its switch to Net Zero at its Port Talbot steelworks.
The Indian conglomerate is expected to invest £1.25bn, including the £500m of taxpayer money, in retooling the site to produce ‘greener’ steel, which ministers said will reduce the U.K.’s entire carbon emissions by around 1.5%.
However, the new processes will require fewer jobs and Tata will consult on a restructuring that could lead to 3,000 redundancies.
The Unite union described the plans as a “disgrace” and vowed to fight them. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said it was a “devastating blow for workers at Port Talbot and the opposite of a just transition”.
Tata has been in talks with the Government for months about state aid to help switch the plant’s two coal-fired blast furnaces to electric arc versions that can run on zero-carbon electricity.
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the Government “is backing our steel sector” and said the proposal would “save thousands of jobs in the long term”.
Ministers confirmed the deal had the potential to safeguard over 5,000 jobs across the U.K. Tata presently employs about 8,000 steel workers.
Ms. Badenoch said: “This is an historic package of support from the U.K. Government and will not only protect skilled jobs in Wales but also grow the U.K. economy, boost growth and help ensure a successful U.K. steel industry.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt added: “It is right that we are ready to step in to protect this world class manufacturing industry and to support a green growth hub in South Wales.”
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