Tata delays announcement on job cuts at Port Talbot

Thousands of workers at Britain's biggest steelworks have been left in limbo after the Port Talbot plant's owner delayed an announcement on job cuts that was expected to leave as many as 3,000 UK employees out of work.

- Jasper Jolly

The Welsh town, which grew up around the steelworks, had been braced for confirmation of the closures of the two blast furnaces after a meeting of the Tata Steel board yesterday, in what would have marked the beginning of a major retrenchment in UK steelmaking.

However, in a last-minute change of tack, Tata cancelled a scheduled press conference and said it would not be releasing a statement on its plans. The company did publish its financial results, which showed a £135m loss in the three months from July to September - a deterioration on the previous quarter despite a fall in raw material costs.