Tata Steel will close its ageing Port Talbot coke ovens this week.
The ovens are old, and Tata had instructed unions that they would probably have to close promptly even without its decarbonisation drive.
The Synergy report drawn up for trade unions, which recommended keeping a blast furnace open alongside the hot strip mill, accepted the closure of the ovens. There are around 84 ovens at Port Talbot, and about a third of these have been working of late.
Tata will increase coke imports to offset the closure of the ovens, the company said.
The Unite union is balloting its members over industrial action because of the closure of the mill’s hot end, but the Community union has so far held off from balloting as it continues its consultations with Tata.
The last coke produced at the site, indeed the last coke to be made in the UK, will be on 20 March.
Tata Steel to close Port Talbot coke ovens | Latest Market News (argusmedia.com)
