London, Jan 19 (IANS): Tata Steel said on Friday that it will be shutting down the two blast furnaces in its plant in the UK by the end of this year, which would result in the loss of up to 2,800 jobs at the company's Port Talbot steelworks in Wales.

The company is switching to lower carbon electric arc furnaces at the plant for which it has been extended financial assistance to the tune of 500 million pounds by the government.

The company said it will "commence statutory consultation as part of its plan to transform and restructure its UK business.

This plan is intended to reverse more than a decade of losses and transition from the legacy blast furnaces to a more sustainable, green steel business.

"Port Talbot's two high-emission blast furnaces and coke ovens would close in a phased manner with the first blast furnace closing around mid-2024 and the remaining heavy end assets would wind down during the second half of 2024," Tata Steel said in an exchange filing.

The plan also includes a wider restructuring of other locations and functions across the company, including the intended closure of the Continuous Annealing Processing Line (CAPL) in March 2025.

"The course we are putting forward is difficult, but we believe it is the right one. We must transform at pace to build a sustainable business in the UK for the long-term," Tata Steel Chief Executive TV Narendran said.