South Wales is heading towards a massive economic shock as they prepare for the consequences of closing the blast furnaces as Port Talbot steelworks. The company, Tata, announced in January that it would be shutting down two blast furnaces in the home of transitioning to greener and cheaper steelmaking operations. They are planning to replace both the blast furnaces with an electric arc furnace, that will significantly reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions whilst requiring fewer workers. This decision came after the plant claimed to be losing £1m a day, and without these closures the entire company, employing 8,000 people, was at risk. However, it has come has a huge cost for the South Wales community, directly causing the redundancy of 2,800 jobs within the next 18 months. There is also a very proud history of steelmaking attached to Port Talbot, and the Welsh locals are concerned about the loss of identity in the area as a consequence of the closures.
Tata has said that it will be seeking voluntary redundancies where possible and is committed to helping reduce the consequences of this closure by providing severance payments alongside training programmes for those effected. The government has also launched a £100m Port Talbot transition board as a supportive measure for those affected by the steelworks’ closure. However, despite these initiatives, the plans are likely to have devastating effects on the town, and the full extent of the economic damage will only be evident once the damage is done.