At the Tata Steel site in Port Talbot in Wales, August 15, 2023 (AFP/Archives/Geoff Caddick)
Indian steelmaker Tata Steel will cut up to 2,800 jobs in the United Kingdom following the restructuring of its giant steelworks at Port Talbot in Wales, a major blow for a region already undermined by deindustrialization.
“Around 2,500 positions should be affected” in the next 18 months and 300 others potentially in the next three years, details the group in a press release, which intends to replace its blast furnaces with a less polluting electric equivalent and has received government subsidies. massive.
News greeted with dismay in Port Talbot, a town where the entire economy revolves around the steelworks.
David Rees, a member of the Welsh Parliament for the Labor Party, was concerned about the “harmful impact on the regional economy, because it will also affect businesses in the supply chain and those where people spend their money.” .
“For every job in steel, two will disappear,” he assures, interviewed by AFP in front of the smoking furnaces, estimating that many people will have to move to find a new job.
Tata Steel, which employs a total of 8,000 people in the country, promises that its restructuring plan will make it possible to “secure the largest part of [sa] production capacity” in the country while “reducing its CO2 emissions”.
“It’s already more or less a disaster area, it’s not going to get better,” comments Robert Jones, a retiree, in one of the main streets of Port Talbot.
At the Tata Steel site in Port Talbot in Wales, August 15, 2023 (AFP/Archives/Geoff Caddick)
Andrew, 50, who walks on crutches and does not want to give his last name, says he worked in blast furnaces for most of his career but is no longer able to work.
“They should have kept at least one blast furnace open. Or the government should have bought it. (…) Young people will be the most affected because they will have to retrain, find new jobs.”
As part of its plan, Tata says its two “high CO2 emitting” Port Talbot blast furnaces and coke ovens “will gradually close”, the first “around mid-2024”, and the rest by the end of the year.
The hot rolling mill, however, will continue to operate.
The restructuring will cover several other sites across the country until 2025 inclusive.
– “Missed opportunity” –
An investment of 1.25 billion pounds (1.45 billion euros) is planned for the installation of an electric furnace and the modernization of Tata Steel’s infrastructure to “ensure long-term, high-quality production at the leading steelmaker in the United Kingdom”, details the press release.
The British government has committed to injecting up to 500 million pounds into this investment project.
“We are determined to ensure a competitive and sustainable future for the British steel sector,” commented a Conservative government spokesperson.
At the Tata Steel site in Port Talbot in Wales, August 15, 2023 (AFP/Archives/Geoff Caddick)
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “knows that this is a time of concern” for Tata Steel employees and their families “and that is why the government will continue to support affected staff”, assured a spokesperson. speech from Downing Street on Friday.
Deeming Tata’s decision “extremely disappointing”, the GMB union declared on X on Friday: “We cannot let Port Talbot close. The United Kingdom must step up and protect this industry.” “We cannot find ourselves relying on lower quality, higher carbon emitting steel imports,” the union added.
“We recognize that this restructuring proposal will have a major impact on the individuals and communities concerned,” admits Tata Steel Managing Director T. V Narendran, quoted in the press release, which promises assistance for retraining.
The steel group, which says it wanted to end “more than a decade of losses” in the United Kingdom, wants to achieve carbon neutrality in the country by 2045.
The environmental association Greenpeace, for its part, considered that it was “vital that the government plays a greater role in order to achieve a just green transition”.
“Clean steel production is the future of this sector and many countries around the world are already switching to green steel made from hydrogen. In addition to the electric stove, this is an option that could have saved jobs in Port Talbot” adds the NGO which speaks of “missed opportunities”.
© 2024 AFP
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