London: Indian steel giant Tata Steel said on Friday it may close its main plant in Port Talbot, Wales unless it receives help from the UK government to help decarbonize production. “Transition to a greener steel mill is our goal. This is only possible with financial help from the government, Chairman of Tata Group Natarajan Chandrasekaran told the Financial Times.
Chandrasekaran said the group had been involved in two years of discussions to acquire 1.5 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) from London and expected a deal to be concluded within 12 months. But he added that “without that, we would have to consider closing sites”, including Port Talbot, Britain’s largest steelmaking site, which employs regarding half of Tata’s UK workforce of 8,000.
The Community Union, Tata Steel’s largest union, criticized the “shocking situation” which it said emerged without any consultation. “The unions worked with our experts to explore low-carbon options that will protect our country’s steelmaking capacity, jobs and communities. This process is not over, but Tata’s comments mock the company’s commitments to open and transparent dialogue with unions,” the community said.
The union called on corporate executives to “live up to their moral and social responsibilities towards the workforce” and reach an agreement with the government. Unite’s regional secretary, Peter Hughes, said no steel mill anywhere in the world has so far been able to remove carbon from production without state assistance. Hughes added: “Steel is a strategic sector and should be central to the UK’s economic strategy.”
Tata aims to be carbon neutral by 2050 and also wants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its UK operations by 30% by 2030. FT reports that the company wants cash help to fund the closure of two blast furnaces in Port Talbot and their replacement with two electric arc furnaces Carbon-intensive, a process that costs regarding three billion pounds.
A British government spokesman told AFP: “Steel plays a vital role in all areas of the UK economy and Tata is a highly valued steel producer and a major employer in the UK.” Tata Steel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP. The drop in steel demand during the pandemic had already raised concerns regarding the Port Talbot plant’s long-term future following losses in two years from a health crisis totaling nearly £1 billion.
Last year, Tata Steel already announced 1,000 job losses in the UK. The industry sees the pollution it generates as bringing legal problems amid climate change, as demonstrated last February when Tata faced a Dutch criminal investigation into what was allegedly “intentional and illegal” contamination of surface water at a factory outside Amsterdam. – France Press agency
