Labour politicians have been urged to step in to help avert a “costly mistake” by Tata Steel, which has told staff it could close operations at its steel plant in Port Talbot just days after the general election.
The Indian owner of the vast south Wales steelworks said on Thursday that it intended to cease operations at two blast furnaces on the site by 7 July – three days after the general election – in response to strike action announced by Unite members from 8 July. The company had planned to shut one furnace by the end of June and a second by September.
About 1,500 workers across Port Talbot and another site at Llanwern intend to strike over Tata’s decision to close its blast furnaces, cutting 2,800 jobs.
The company said: “We cannot be certain that we are able to continue to safely operate our assets in a stable fashion through the period of strike action.”
A Tata Steel spokesperson called on Unite to cancel the industrial action and said it had began legal action to “challenge the validity of Unite’s ballot”. Tata called on Unite to consider “the company’s proposed memorandum of understanding, which puts forward a wide-ranging proposal including generous employee support packages, training, and skills development”.
The decision has angered politicians and unions, who have argued that the Tata should wait until after next Thursday’s general election, which Labour is predicted to win.
Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, and Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, have pledged up to £3bn to support the industry’s transition to low carbon steel production, which is expected to include honouring an existing £500m package of government support for Port Talbot. A new electric arc furnace will be built by the end of 2027.
Torsten Bell, the former chief executive of the Resolution Foundation thinktank who is standing as Labour candidate for Swansea West, said on X that Tata’s decision was “incredibly worrying”.
He wrote: “Safety is of course paramount but Tata should avoid taking any action that cannot be reversed before seeing the result of the general election.
“We need to see everyone getting round the table. It is crucial we don’t lose the chance for the company and unions to sit down with an incoming Labour government, given the commitment from [Reynolds] and [Reeves] to a £2.5bn steel renewal fund.”