A UNION warned against “decarbonisation on the cheap” amid reports that the government and Tata Steel were closing in on a deal to secure Port Talbot’s future.

The GMB said that short-term investment could result in thousands of job losses as details emerged of a new taxpayer aid package with Britain’s biggest steel producer.

Under the deal, the government will reportedly provide £500 million funding and Tata Steel £700m to modernise the Welsh plant as it transitions from blast furnaces to greener steel production.

The Indian-owned company would commit to building electric arc furnaces, which utilise different, less labour-intensive, processes to produce steel than traditional blast furnaces.

GMB national officer Charlotte Brumpton-Childs said: “Government intervention in the steel industry is long overdue, but imposing a programme without proper worker consultation is unacceptable.

“It is not a just transition if thousands of jobs are sacrificed in the name of decarbonisation on the cheap.

“GMB has urged ministers and Tata Steel to have a longer-term view on the decarbonisation of steel.

“We wholeheartedly support the move to modernise and decarbonise the industry, in fact we have sought this type of investment for years.

“But ignoring technologies outside of electric arc furnaces will mean tens of thousands of people will lose their livelihoods.”

Whitehall officials reportedly believe 8,000 manufacturing jobs are likely to be lost without a package.

But even with the funding, the company is said to have indicated that as many as 3,000 of its British-based staff were still likely to lose their jobs.

The Department for Business and Trade and Tata Steel declined to comment.

Tata has said that “any significant change is only possible with government investment and support, as also seen in other steel making countries in Europe where governments are actively supporting companies in decarbonising initiatives.”