Job cuts inevitable at UK facility: Tata Steel chief

New Delhi: Loss of jobs for around 2,500 workers at Tata Steel’s operations in the UK, which are in a transition phase, is inevitable, the company’s CEO TV Narendran said.

Fear of job losses has attracted criticism of the workers’ unions and they are continuously protesting against the company in the UK. India-based Tata Steel owns the UK’s largest steelworks of 3 million tonne per annum (MTPA) at Port Talbot in South Wales and employs around 8,000 people across all its operations in that country. As part of its decarbonisation plan, the company is shifting to low-emission electric arc furnace (EAF) process from the blast furnace (BF) route which is nearing its end of life cycle.

Narendran said the transition to EAF with the UK government aid will make the company competitive in terms of reduced production cost, and also help in reduction of 5 million tonnes of Co2 per year.