The final blast furnace at Port Talbot’s Tata steelworks will shut down today resulting in 2,800 jobs being put at risk.
The metal working site in South Wales was once a symbol of British industry, which provided employment and security for families in the towns and villages in the area.
Union bosses described the decision to close Furnace 4 as an ‘incredibly sad and poignant day for the British steel industry’.
The closure of the furnace comes following a steady decline in the industry since the 1970s which has seen heavy job losses for decades.
Port Talbot’s Tata steelworks will see its final blast furnace closed putting 2,800 jobs at risk
Cast House operator Martin Rees changes the nozzle on a clay gun in Blast Furnace number four at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot
Raw materials to make iron sit in heaps at the Tata Steel Port Talbot integrated iron and steel works in south Wales
The industry was once one of the largest employers in Britain with 320,000 workers employed in 1971, but there are just 33,700 now according to statistics from the UK Steel trade association.
Owen Midwinter from Port Talbot, told the BBC he had already finished his last shift in the blast furnace control room.
‘Every day there are rumours, it plays on your mind a bit.
‘If the worst comes to the worst and I do get made redundant, I’d want to stay around here,’ he added.
Ex-Tata electrician: Steelworks ‘life and soul’ of Port Talbot communities
The devastation felt by everyone in the local area after Tata job cuts has been summed up by former electrician Robert Davies (pictured), 71
‘I’ve got my family, I’ve got the football club. But that might not be a possibility.’
There are also fears that the closure of the Tata Steel site will lead more job cuts across the field.
British Steel which is controlled by Chinese firm Jingye, could also shut its blast furnace sites in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, resulting in 2,500 job losses.
At Port Talbot works will begin to open an alternative ‘eco friendly’ site which using scrap metal to make steel.
But this is not expected to open until 2027.
Tata Steel said it will embark on a £1.25billion investment in electric arc furnace technology in Port Talbot and asset upgrades, to secure long-term, high-quality production.
The proposed investment is supported by the UK Government, which has committed up to £500 million to enable the transformation.
Tata Steel plans to invest £750 million in the project, alongside funding for a ‘comprehensive support package’ for affected employees, business restructuring and transition costs, as part of its long-term commitment to UK production.
Robert Davies, 71, who worked at the steel works for many years, described the works as the ‘life and soul’ of the communities within a 30 mile radius.
‘It has meant a lot to the community over the last 40 years when (Margaret) Thatcher decimated it.
‘People are afraid of losing their jobs, maybe even afraid of speaking up. They are afraid of redundancies and paying their mortgages.
‘It’s all happened before. They said that about the miners too. Nothing has recovered in the south Wales valleys for years.
‘The job plan that the union should have put forward is to build the new arc furnace first before destroying the two blast furnaces. Once they’re gone, maybe Tata will pull out.’
Port Talbot’s two high-emission blast furnaces and coke ovens will close in a phased manner, with the first blast furnace closing about mid-2024 and the remaining heavy end assets winding down during the second half of this year
Towns and villages close to the steelworks in South Wales rely on it for jobs for their families
Community Union General Secretary Roy Rickhuss, said: ‘Today marks an incredibly sad and poignant day for the British steel industry and for the communities in and around Port Talbot which are so intricately connected to blast furnace steelmaking.
‘The closure of Blast Furnace 4 marks the end of an era, but this is not the end for Port Talbot. We will never stop fighting for our steel industry and our communities in South Wales.’
On Friday, staff were sent an email, which Sky News obtained a copy of, which announced the closure.
Tata UK’s chief executive Rajesh Nair said: ‘Port Talbot has long been associated with the iron and steel industry and the closure of our heavy end operations will be a hugely significant and emotional day for employees – past and present – contractor partners, and the local community.
‘While it will of course be a difficult day, it is a necessary step as we transition to a green steel future and secure the legacy of steelmaking at Port Talbot for future generations.’
Protesters hold signs outside Tata Steel Port Talbot after a government announcement about steel industry investments in September last year
The Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was defended by locals, unions and politicians against job cuts but they ultimately lost
This January Tata Steel confirmed the decision to close the last of the site’s blast furnaces despite protests from workers and local residents.
In a statement, Tata said: ‘Tata Steel today announced it will commence statutory consultation as part of its plan to transform and restructure its UK business.
‘This plan is intended to reverse more than a decade of losses and transition from the legacy blast furnaces to a more sustainable, green steel business.
‘The transformation would secure most of Tata Steel UK’s existing product capability and maintain the country’s self-sufficiency in steelmaking, while also reducing Tata Steel UK’s CO2 emissions by five million tonnes per year and overall UK country emissions by about 1.5%.’
In January the Labour MP for Aberavon, one of the area going to be most harmed by the closure said union bosses had tried to keep the blast furnace open while the new eco plant called a electric-arc furnace was built.
Stephen Kinnock also pointed out that the closure of the furnace will mean Britain is the only country in the G20 to be unable to produce steel.
‘We urge Tata Steel to get back around the table with the trade unions and to look at this again,’ he said.
‘The plan that Tata Steel has done with the UK government, £500m for 3,000 job redundancies and removing our ability to make our own steel, is not the right way to go,’.