Steel giant Tata is cutting 900 jobs and closing 12 sites under plans to improve competitiveness amid a slump in demand across Europe.
Most job losses will be in South Wales, including 500 at Port Talbot, although sites in South Yorkshire, Teesside and the West Midlands will also be hit.
Unions described it as devastating news, especially coming so close to Christmas, while Unite said it rounded off a week of "jobs carnage" across the UK economy.
A total of 580 jobs will go in Wales, 155 in Yorkshire, 120 in the West Midlands and 30 on Teesside.
Tata said demand for steel in Europe had fallen by 25% since 2007.
Michael Leahy, general secretary of the Community trade union, said: "We will be seeking an urgent meeting to ensure our principle of no compulsory redundancies is upheld."
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