Tata Steel to Let Go More Than 1,000 at UK Mills
01/18/2016 - Tata Steel UK Ltd. is laying off 1,050 people, mostly from its integrated Port Talbot mill in Wales, on account of continued pricing pressure from low-cost imports, the company has announced.
“I know this news will be unsettling for all those affected, but these tough actions are critical in the face of extremely difficult market conditions which are expected to continue for the foreseeable future," said Tata Steel Europe CEO Karl Koehler in a statement.
Of the cuts, 750 are to be made at the Port Talbot Works, which produces slabs and hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized coils. The company also is cutting 200 jobs in supporting functions and 100 at its Corby and Hartlepool pipe and tube mills and its Trostre tinplate and packaging steel facility.
“We will work closely with affected employees and their trade union representatives. Retaining the right skills for the future will be critical, but we will look to minimize employee hardship and redeploy employees where possible,” said Stuart Wilkie, Tata's director of U.K. strip products.
This is the latest round of announced layoffs in the U.K. steel industry, which is being impacted not only by a flood of imports, but by high energy costs and a strong pound. As a result, U.K. steelmakers have either shed or announced plans to cut more than 6,000 jobs from a workforce that was 30,000-strong at the start of 2015, reported The (London) Financial Times.
“We need the European Commission to accelerate its response to unfairly traded imports and increase the robustness of its actions. Not doing so threatens the future of the entire European steel industry," Koehler said.
"And while we welcome progress on U.K. energy costs, the Government must take urgent action to increase the competitiveness of the U.K. for its vital steel sector. This includes lowering business rates and supporting energy efficiency and anti-dumping cases so we can compete fairly."
Of the cuts, 750 are to be made at the Port Talbot Works, which produces slabs and hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized coils. The company also is cutting 200 jobs in supporting functions and 100 at its Corby and Hartlepool pipe and tube mills and its Trostre tinplate and packaging steel facility.
“We will work closely with affected employees and their trade union representatives. Retaining the right skills for the future will be critical, but we will look to minimize employee hardship and redeploy employees where possible,” said Stuart Wilkie, Tata's director of U.K. strip products.
This is the latest round of announced layoffs in the U.K. steel industry, which is being impacted not only by a flood of imports, but by high energy costs and a strong pound. As a result, U.K. steelmakers have either shed or announced plans to cut more than 6,000 jobs from a workforce that was 30,000-strong at the start of 2015, reported The (London) Financial Times.
“We need the European Commission to accelerate its response to unfairly traded imports and increase the robustness of its actions. Not doing so threatens the future of the entire European steel industry," Koehler said.
"And while we welcome progress on U.K. energy costs, the Government must take urgent action to increase the competitiveness of the U.K. for its vital steel sector. This includes lowering business rates and supporting energy efficiency and anti-dumping cases so we can compete fairly."
