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Stephen Kinnock, Labour MP for Aberavon, home of the Port Talbot steelworks, has urged Tata Steel and the UK government to rethink their approach and adopt the plan set out by unions to avoid redundancies.

"Tata's decision to follow the Conservative business model of managed decline for British steel making will cause the job losses of 3,000 hard-working men and women," he said.

"By pursuing a narrow electric arc furnace-only model, Tata Steel will be unable to seize the commercial opportunities of the future, while at the same time leaving Britain more dependent on imported steel from countries whose governments won't always have Britain's best interests at heart.

"Tata Steel and the government must rethink their approach and recognise that an exciting and prosperous future for British steel making can be found by adopting the multi-union plan, which will be significantly strengthened by the investment that the Labour has pledged to deliver in government."

Job losses one of Drakeford's biggest concernspublished at 16:07 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January

16:07 GMT 18 January

Gareth Lewis
Political Editor, BBC Wales

Even though it is the UK government which has been directly involved in talks with Tata, behind the scenes the future of Port Talbot has been one of First Minister Mark Drakeford's biggest concerns.

It is easy to understand why: 4,000 people work there with thousands more in the supply chain. The challenge now is to try to get workers into new jobs.

Both governments are part of a £100m transition plan to help them re-train. And do not discount the cultural aspect to this.

Generations of families have worked at Port Talbot. And as we approach the 40th anniversary of the start of the miners' strike, we have another part of Wales's industrial heritage, and the social and cultural ties that go with it, being confined to the past.

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Steel has been big business in Wales and the UK for many years. But how many people does the industry employ and how much does it contribute to the economy?

Here are the facts and figures behind Port Talbot's Tata Steel and beyond - before any potential job cuts.

'This represents worst case scenario'published at 16:03 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January

16:03 GMT 18 January

Huw Thomas
Business correspondent in Port Talbot

It's a bright winter's day in Port Talbot but the mood here is incredibly dark.

The news emerging from the meeting in London has shocked people, some of whom have stopped to ask journalists outside the steelworks for the latest information.

The rejection of the union's plan, and a decision to press ahead with the sudden closure of the blast furnaces, represents the worst case scenario for the workforce and the community which depends on Tata Steel.

How quickly the plan is implemented, and how much support can be offered to the workforce, are just some of the questions that people here want answered.

The BBC has been told a large proportion of these 3,000 jobs will be gone by September of this year.

The first job losses are likely to begin in April, with more following in September.

Tata Steel's Port Talbot plant is the largest steelworks in the UK, it currently employs 4,000 of the company's 8,000-strong UK workforce.

The BBC understands the 3,000 job loss figure is UK-wide, but that a majority would be from the Port Talbot site.

This would represent a loss of up to 75% of the site's workers.

In Wales the company also has steel processing sites in Llanwern, Shotton, Trostre and Caerphilly. In England the company has staff based in Corby, Hartlepool, Sheffield, Shapfell and the West Midlands.

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A plan put forward by the GMB and Community had argued that one of the blast furnaces should be kept open for a transitional period, alongside a new electric arc furnace, to safeguard jobs and preserve the UK’s ability to make new steel.

However, Tata has been reluctant to do this because of the costs involved in keeping the existing furnaces and support operations going.

GMB national officer Charlotte Brumpton-Childs said the meeting with Tata had been a "tough" one.

"We'll let Tata make the announcement, as we said, we need to talk to our members about any detail before we talk to the press," she said.

"Any rejection of the multi-union fund that would avoid any compulsory redundancies and safeguard steel jobs, not just in south Wales, but across the supply chain would be a complete derogation of responsibility for both Tata Steel and the government.

Tata is planning to replace the blast furnaces - which produce new steel from iron ore - with a modern electric arc furnace.

This will produce usable steel from scrap metal. It will be more environmentally friendly to operate, but require a smaller workforce.

Last year, the government said it would support the £1.25bn plan with up to £500m of public money.

Image source, Getty Images

The decision follows a meeting between Tata executives and the Community, GMB and Unite unions at a London hotel on Thursday afternoon.

It is expected to be formally announced by Tata tomorrow.

We're restarting our page after a technical issue, let's bring you up to speed on the latest news.

Tata Steel is to push ahead with plans to close both blast furnaces at its Port Talbot works in south Wales, the BBC has been told.

The move is expected to lead to the loss of up to 3,000 jobs.

Here we will bring you the latest updates on this breaking story.