Tata Steel reportedly asks for fresh Port Talbot plant government funding
It's believed the firm is in need of additional finance to complete work on an electric arc furnace
The UK's biggest steel company is believed to be seeking fresh government funding as delays hamper the transformation of its plant in South Wales.
It's emerged Tata Steel has approached ministers in recent weeks to discuss a multi million pound support package.
It's in addition to a £500 million fund to build an electric arc furnace at the plant in Port Talbot.
More than 2,000 jobs were lost when Tata closed the blast furnaces there, ahead of starting work on the new electric model.
It remains unclear as to how much additional funding Tata Steel is now seeking from Whitehall, although industry sources reckon it's likely to run to hundreds of millions of pounds.
Reports suggest Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has been briefed on the approach from Tata Steel.
Tata Steel has warned for years about the viability of Port Talbot, with repeated threats of closure hanging over the plant during the last decade.
The firm is part of the same Indian conglomerate as Jaguar Land Rover, which announced earlier this month that it was cutting 4,000 jobs as part of cost-saving measures.
The parent company, Tata Group, is also involved in a boardroom governance dispute which has left its subsidiaries uncertain about the group's future leadership.