Rumours that Tata Steel are planning to completely close the heavy end in Port Talbot within months, before any electric arc furnace replacement is built or other alternatives properly considered, could mean the beginning of the end for what remains of the UK steel industry.
It is now perfectly clear that the deal Rishi Sunak did with Tata Steel will spend half a billion pounds of taxpayers’ money to put thousands of jobs at risk, including hundreds at Trostre.
Trostre’s ongoing viability remains reliant on sourcing quality steel currently made in Port Talbot’s blast furnaces. The plan is to import that steel from abroad……. But losing jobs here, just to import steel makes no sense and does nothing to green the industry.
Both Tata Steel and the UK Government really need to step back, rethink and work with trade unions and Welsh Government. Sir Keir Starmer was in Port Talbot only a few weeks ago outlining Labour’s £3bn commitment to investing in a proper, well thought out transition to greener steel in the UK and that is the sort of ambitious vision that we really need to see from the Government if we are to plot a secure future for the industry here in Wales.