Welsh first minister to ask Tata bosses not to shut down blast furnaces

The first minister of Wales is set to travel to India next week to engage with Tata executives regarding the future of steel production in his country.

Vaughan Gething said that he plans to visit Mumbai to advocate for retaining the blast furnaces at Port Talbot, as reported by the BBC.

He emphasised the importance of avoiding "hard compulsory redundancies" and will urge Tata to reconsider their decision.

Tata Steel rejected a union proposal to maintain one blast furnace while transitioning to greener steel production at the Port Talbot plant.

Approximately 2,800 jobs are at risk across Tata's UK operations, with a significant portion in Port Talbot, the largest steel plant in the UK.

The company currently employs 4,000 workers at Port Talbot and will initiate a voluntary redundancy process in May.

The Mumbai-headquartered steelmaker plans to close two old blast furnaces at Britain’s biggest steel plant as part of its £1.25-billion investment to transition to electric arc furnaces.

Tata has rejected a plan from unions to keep one blast furnace running for a transition period to ensure a “just transition” to greener steelmaking, terming it financially and operationally unviable.

The company claims the unions’ proposal would result in at least £1.6 billion of additional costs and put the factory’s future continuity in jeopardy.

In addition to Port Talbot, Tata operates steel processing sites in Llanwern, Shotton, Trostre, and Caerphilly in Wales.

Gething addressed the Senedd, stating, "Next week, I plan to go to Mumbai to meet Tata to press the case again not just for the alternative but a clear case that we have continued to make and will continue to make for there to be no hard compulsory redundancies."

Tata's recent decision to secure the future of steelmaking at the site was backed by a £500 million contribution from the UK government.

Steel unions have criticised the decision and are considering strike action.