Tata Steel confirms 2,800 jobs cut across UK

“It’s not that we’ve given up in a hurry, it’s not that we’ve not tried hard enough."

The chief executive and managing director of Tata Steel says the company has tried very hard to preserve the Port Talbot site, investing about £5bn in the firm mover 15 years.

But TV Narendran added multiple challenges have led to job losses which are necessary to “keep up with the times”.

Ethan Nordhoff was in the middle of his shift as a second year apprentice at the Tata Steel works in Port Talbot when the job cuts were announced.

BBCCopyright: BBC

"There's a lot of rumours and a lot of worries," the 18-year-old tells BBC Newsbeat.

"It makes me a bit concerned for when and how I'm going to finish this apprenticeship and where I'll end up."

Ethan says the job cuts in Port Talbot will be a "massive hit" for the local area.

Asked to sum up the situation, Ethan says it is "scary, lonesome and worrying".

He says there might be some older workers who would have considered voluntary redundancy "but there are others who still want a career, such as myself, who want to be able to have a job opportunity for the next 40 years maybe".

Mind Cymru is offering support to those affected by the Tata jobs announcement.

Sue O’Leary, the charity's executive director, said: "We know that difficult life events like losing your job and financial uncertainty often go hand in hand with poor mental health.

"Please seek help if you are struggling."

We've just heard from Keir Starmer who says he is "very concerned" by Tata Steel's announcement.

Speaking to broadcasters, the Labour party leader says he realises the impact the job cuts will have in south Wales, noting he'd visited the Port Talbot site in October last year.

"The government said it had a plan for steel. It transpires the plan involves thousands of redundancies," he says.

Starmer calls on ministers to look again at the alternative plans offering a "viable way forward" drawn up by steel worker's unions:

Quote Message: It's vital we have a viable steel industry in the United Kingdom. Labour has got a plan for that viable future, not just for the next year or two but for decades to come."

It's vital we have a viable steel industry in the United Kingdom. Labour has got a plan for that viable future, not just for the next year or two but for decades to come."

He adds that the Labour party is "committed to the future of steel in the United Kingdom", attacking the government for agreeing to a plan involving thousands of job losses despite an alternative to avoid them being available.

Starmer goes on to acknowledge the need to shift to a greener form of production, but says any change needs to be a "just transition working with the trade unions".

First Minister Mark Drakeford is calling on the UK government to “come back to the table” and invest in saving jobs.

He told BBC Wales the Welsh government “does not view this announcement as final".

"We’re not going to give up on the effort to keep more jobs and have a fairer transition period for people in Port Talbot,” he said.

Mr Drakeford has written to Rishi Sunak asking for an urgent call, but says the response was that the Prime Minister “had no time".

"That is not a reasonable response given the effect on companies and communities here in Wales,” he said.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Ieuan Eltham left school at 16 when he got his first job at the Tata Steel works in Port Talbot. Now 29, he says the plant is "all I've ever known".

BBCCopyright: BBC

Ieuan has an 11-month-old daughter and says he and his family are "devastated" by the news.

"It's a mix of emotions but disappointment is a big one," he says.

"And quite angry about Tata - let's be honest, it's been terrible," he tells BBC Newsbeat after almost 3,000 redundancies were confirmed.

He's worried about the uncertainty ahead.

"Nobody knows where they're gonna go from here," Ieuan says.

"Where else can you find a job?"

Tata Steel says a previous claim it made that its Port Talbot site alone would see 2,500 job losses was made in error.

The firm has clarified that this figure is UK-wide, however unions say a bulk are expected to be at Port Talbot.

Around 300 jobs on top of this may still go at its Llanwern site in three years' time, the firm has said.

Tata Steel's Port Talbot site is by far and away the company's biggest employer in the UK.

Around 4,000 workers are based at the site.

Here are where the rest of Tata workers are located at sites around England and Wales.

.Copyright: .

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

TV Narendran, chief executive and managing director of Tata Steel, has told BBC Wales the job losses are regrettable but necessary.

"It's not something we would have liked to happen. I think we tried very hard over the years to preserve the site, keep it going, despite all the challenges," he says.

"Over the last 15 years, I think we've invested something like £5bn to keep the business going. So it's not like we've given up in a hurry or that we've not tried hard enough."

He added that companies around the world must now start turning to low-carbon steelmaking.

"Companies are shifting to it. In Europe, it's already happening. So why should we not do it? And I think we felt this was the best way forward."

Steve Webster, a Community union rep at Shotton in Flintshire, says: "While there is no direct impact of today's announcement from Tata on Shotton, there is a concern that the company are putting all their eggs in one basket with [the] price of scrap and electricity.

"Our customers are demanding green steel and this won't happen with the company increasing their carbon footprint by offshoring production to heavy polluting countries."

Tony Bosworth, of environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth, says workers at Tata’s Port Talbot site have been left “high and dry” by the firm’s announcement.

“This is a huge blow to workers and the local community," he said.

“Port Talbot should be at the forefront of a transition to clean steel – with investment in green hydrogen to power virgin steel manufacturing, as well as electric arc furnaces.

“This would help protect jobs, support homegrown steel production, and boost the UK’s switch to a green economy.”

We've been telling you a lot about the move from from blast furnaces to an electric arc furnace.

Here's a handy graphic to explain how that'll work.

BBCCopyright: BBC

"My father and my grandfather worked in the steelworks, and my husband does now," says Sian Jenkins from Port Talbot.

"We’re absolutely devastated and we’re worried about future and how we are going to cope financially," she tells the BBC Radio Wales Phone In.

"It's really worrying. [My husband] drives three unloader cranes on the beachfront, are they going to be unloading what they need from them any more? Probably not."

Ryan from Swansea, a contractor at the steelworks, says his future feels insecure.

"Contractors haven’t really been told a lot about what’s going on, we’ve only heard rumours.

"We’re paid less, we don’t get redundancy packages, we don’t get the benefits like TATA employees do. It’s quite concerning for contactors on site."

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Here's some more detail on the timeline for how Tata plans to close both of its blast furnaces and supporting facilities in Port Talbot in a "phased manner":

• The first blast furnace and coke ovens will close around mid-2024, and then the firm will progressively wind down its remaining heavy end assets during the second half of the calendar year
• There will be a wider restructuring of other locations and functions across the company, including the intended closure of the steel-processing facility known as the Continuous Annealing Processing Line in March 2025
• In order to deliver the proposed electric arc furnace in 2027, Tata says it has begun engineering design work and construction planning for a furnace which it says would be among the most modern in the world

The firm says it is in advanced planning discussions with the National Grid to enable infrastructure and has also begun engaging with the local authority and regulators.

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

"Today is an incredibly difficult day for Wales," says the Welsh Conservative leader in the Senedd Andrew RT Davies.

"I remain unconvinced that a blast furnace could not be kept open during the transition to the arc furnaces, protecting many jobs in the short to medium term," he says.

"This needs to be explained fully as to why this hasn’t been done by the company."

Thousands of jobs have been saved by the UK government's £500m investment in the restructure, Davies adds.

Port Talbot is a town in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, south Wales.

It is approximately 9 miles (14km) east of the city of Swansea, and about 36 miles (58km) west of the city of Cardiff.

BBCCopyright: BBC

If you are just joining us, here's what we know so far:

• Tata Steel is cutting 2,800 jobs across the UK and closing both blast furnaces at its site in Port Talbot
• The blast furnaces will be replaced by an electric arc furnace, which produces less CO2 but requires fewer workers to maintain
• About 2,500 of the jobs will be lost in the next 18 months, Tata says, with most of the job cuts expected in Port Talbot
• Steelworkers' union Community says Tata's plans are "unacceptable" and will be "devastating" for the south Wales town
• The UK government is contributing £500m towards the £1.25bn cost of the electric arc furnace
• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the alternative is the entire plant being closed
• First Minister Mark Drakeford says the Welsh government "will do all it can" to support those affected