Tata is planning to reduce output at Port Talbot, its largest UK plant, as part of a merger with ThyssenKrupp, of Germany Rebecca Naden/ReutersThousands of jobs at Port Talbot are in the balance again after reports that Tata Steel is to close one of the two operational blast furnaces. Tata is planning to reduce output at its largest UK plant as part of a merger with ThyssenKrupp, of Germany, according to reports. Port Talbot in south Wales has been under the threat of closure since March, when the Tata board in Mumbai shocked British ministers by announcing that it wanted to quit the UK steel industry, citing high energy costs, plummeting steel prices because of Chinese stock-dumping and currency fluctuation. With the latter two issues unwinding in recent months, speculation has grown that Tata may yet retain what is left of its UK businesses after the disposal and…

Source: The Times November 30, 2016 00:05 UTC