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Released July 09, 2024 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The U.K.'s largest steelmaker, Tata Steel U.K. (Mumbai, India), has threatened to close the largest steel manufacturing operations early with the loss of thousands of jobs due to planned strike action at Port Talbot.
The company, which announced plans to shut down both blast furnaces in Port Talbot in January with the expected loss of 2,800 jobs, said strike action planned for July 8 will force it to close the plant months earlier than planned. "Following the announcement by the Unite Union to unilaterally call strike action from 8 July, Tata Steel is unfortunately forced to commence legal action to challenge the validity of Unite's ballot," a spokesperson said. "In the coming days, if we cannot be certain that we are able to continue to safely and stably operate our assets through the period of strike action, we will not have any choice but to pause or stop heavy end operations (including both blast furnaces) on the Port Talbot site. That is not a decision we would take lightly, and we recognize that it would prove extremely costly and disruptive throughout the supply chain, but the safety of people on or around our sites will always take priority over everything else."
In January, Tata announced the end of traditional steelmaking at Port Talbot, revealing plans to shift to electric arc furnace (EAF) technology with the help of a £500 million ($620 million) rescue package from the U.K. government to modernize its steel operations. Up to two-thirds of the workforce are expected to lose their jobs. Tata employs 4,000 people at Port Talbot, but it has argued that without support and the proposed cuts, 8,000 jobs across Tata's U.K. operations would be at risk. Including the government support, Tata is planning to invest £1.25 billion ($1.59 billion) in EAF technology. The company has rejected a multi-trade union plan to keep one blast furnace operational during the transition, citing costs. For additional information, see January 29, 2024, article --Tata Confirms 2,800 Job Cuts At U.K. Steelworks and September 20, 2023, article - Tata Steel U.K. Gets $620 Million Rescue Package.
The U.K.'s leading union, Unite has condemned the actions and has urged the company to postpone any decision until after the upcoming U.K. election in the coming week. A change of government is predicted and the potential winner, the Labour party, has been supportive of plans to save the Port Talbot operations. Unite responded: "Unite's discussions with Labour secured a commitment that a future Labour government would provide £2.5 billion ($2.69 billion) extra investment for U.K. steel. Unite and other unions asked Tata to wait until the possible change of government before making any final decision on the future of its blast furnaces and steel production. Tata refused to do this. Given Tata's stance Unite had no option but to exercise its mandate for industrial action and begin an overtime ban and announce strike action for next month. Unite has repeatedly requested that the company commit to not making any final decisions about the future of the blast furnaces until after the election when meaningful negotiations can be held. The only negotiations Tata wants to have is to sell the jobs via redundancy packages. This is not acceptable."
The new EAF facility would be fed by predominantly U.K.-produced scrap, reducing carbon emissions from the site by 85% and the U.K.'s overall carbon emissions by about 1.5%.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The company, which announced plans to shut down both blast furnaces in Port Talbot in January with the expected loss of 2,800 jobs, said strike action planned for July 8 will force it to close the plant months earlier than planned. "Following the announcement by the Unite Union to unilaterally call strike action from 8 July, Tata Steel is unfortunately forced to commence legal action to challenge the validity of Unite's ballot," a spokesperson said. "In the coming days, if we cannot be certain that we are able to continue to safely and stably operate our assets through the period of strike action, we will not have any choice but to pause or stop heavy end operations (including both blast furnaces) on the Port Talbot site. That is not a decision we would take lightly, and we recognize that it would prove extremely costly and disruptive throughout the supply chain, but the safety of people on or around our sites will always take priority over everything else."
In January, Tata announced the end of traditional steelmaking at Port Talbot, revealing plans to shift to electric arc furnace (EAF) technology with the help of a £500 million ($620 million) rescue package from the U.K. government to modernize its steel operations. Up to two-thirds of the workforce are expected to lose their jobs. Tata employs 4,000 people at Port Talbot, but it has argued that without support and the proposed cuts, 8,000 jobs across Tata's U.K. operations would be at risk. Including the government support, Tata is planning to invest £1.25 billion ($1.59 billion) in EAF technology. The company has rejected a multi-trade union plan to keep one blast furnace operational during the transition, citing costs. For additional information, see January 29, 2024, article --Tata Confirms 2,800 Job Cuts At U.K. Steelworks and September 20, 2023, article - Tata Steel U.K. Gets $620 Million Rescue Package.
The U.K.'s leading union, Unite has condemned the actions and has urged the company to postpone any decision until after the upcoming U.K. election in the coming week. A change of government is predicted and the potential winner, the Labour party, has been supportive of plans to save the Port Talbot operations. Unite responded: "Unite's discussions with Labour secured a commitment that a future Labour government would provide £2.5 billion ($2.69 billion) extra investment for U.K. steel. Unite and other unions asked Tata to wait until the possible change of government before making any final decision on the future of its blast furnaces and steel production. Tata refused to do this. Given Tata's stance Unite had no option but to exercise its mandate for industrial action and begin an overtime ban and announce strike action for next month. Unite has repeatedly requested that the company commit to not making any final decisions about the future of the blast furnaces until after the election when meaningful negotiations can be held. The only negotiations Tata wants to have is to sell the jobs via redundancy packages. This is not acceptable."
The new EAF facility would be fed by predominantly U.K.-produced scrap, reducing carbon emissions from the site by 85% and the U.K.'s overall carbon emissions by about 1.5%.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
