Tata Steel is to push ahead with plans to close both its blast furnaces in Port Talbot with the expected loss of 3,000 jobs UK-wide, the BBC understands.
Tata Steel's decision - set to be formally announced at 11:30 GMT Friday - follows a meeting between company executives and the Community, GMB and Unite unions.
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.
Sources said Tata accepted a union plea to keep the hot strip mill open over a transition period, supporting hundreds more jobs.
"Large scale job losses would be a crushing blow to Port Talbot and UK manufacturing in general," said GMB boss Charlotte Brumpton-Childs.
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