At least one third of the workers at Tata Steel’s plant in Wales, UK may be rendered jobless, as per media reports. The Indian steel company is planning to shut down two blast furnaces for good. This will make 3,000 jobs at the plant redundant.
These blast furnaces are bad for the environment as they cause a lot of pollution. Therefore, the UK government has been urging steel companies to look at greener alternatives. Last year, reports AFP, the UK government granted funds of about $634 million to steel manufacturers to come up with a better technique of steel production that will not harm the environment. The funds, however, could not stop 3000 jobs from becoming redundant. Earlier, 8,000 jobs were to be impacted, but the introduction of an electric furnace had managed to save 5,000 jobs.
Tata Steel has been in discussions with the workers’ unions for some time now, to come up with a solution that will ensure long-term sustainability and a future marked by ‘green steel’.
However, the unions reportedly maintain that their suggestion of a better alternative—which was apparently more cost effective and which would not have resulted in layoffs—was not taken into account.
Tata Steel is relying on the UK government for help and support in its endeavour to reduce emissions and decarbonise.
