Tata Steel announces 1,000 UK job losses as part of Europe-wide overhaul
Tata Steel Europe has started discussions over plans to axe up to 3,000 European jobs, including around 1,000 in the UK.
Faced with increasingly tough market conditions, India-owned Tata is seeking to overhaul the European business and "safeguard its long-term future". The programme is focused on producing higher-value steels; making production processes more efficient; reducing procurement costs; and cutting employment costs by axing up to 3,000 jobs, around two-thirds of which are expected to be management and office-based roles.
On Thursday, Tata met with the European Works Council to discuss the plan and formally start the employee consultation period.
There are likely to be around 1,000 UK job losses, the company said, with around 1,600 in the Netherlands and around 350 elsewhere.
Tata has not said which plants and offices will be affected within individual countries, however. Its Port Talbot plant in Wales employs around 4,000 people, nearly half Tata’s UK workforce. Tata has one steelmaking site and five other facilities in Wales.
Henrik Adam, Tata Steel Europe chief executive, said: "I understand and appreciate colleagues’ concerns about these proposals. Changes creates uncertainty, but we cannot afford to stand still as a company - the world around us is changing fast and we have to adapt.
"Our strategy is to build a strong and stable European business, capable of making significant investment needed for a successful future."
Tony Brady, the officer with national responsibility for Tata Steel at Unite, the union, said: "We are very unhappy about the company’s plans, which seem hell-bent on cost cutting, making staff redundant and possibly selling off parts of the business and outsourcing work to India.
"We appreciate the UK faces unique challenges, such as the high energy costs compared with its European competitors, but we will not stand by and let one of the cornerstones of British industry be take apart piece by piece.
"Unite is supporting the European Works Council in demanding that the company reconsider its plans."