Tata Steel to axe 900 jobs, restart blast furnace
23 Nov 2012
London - Tata Steel is to cut 900 jobs under a major restructure of its UK operations. The proposed job cuts include 580 in South Wales, 155 in Yorkshire, 120 in the West Midlands and 30 in Teesside.
Around 500 positions are being axed at Tata’s Port Talbot-based production hub in South Wales under a restructuring of it management and administrative set-up.
Changes at a number of Tata steel finishing and processing sites in the UK will see services concentrated at six distribution and processing hubs.
The move would involve £22 million of new investment and new employment, but would also lead to the closure of 12 sites, including Tafarnaubach and Cross Keys in South Wales.
Meanwhile, shift levels at the company’s Rotherham and Hartlepool operations are being reduced to match production to lower demand for bar products and pipelines.
“Today’s proposals are part of a strategy to transform ourselves into an ‘all-weather’ steel producer, capable of succeeding in difficult economic conditions,” said Karl Köhler, CEO of Tata Steel’s European operations.
The news coincides with a decision that the company is to restart blast Furnace 4 - one of two blast furnaces in Port Talbot, South Wales, which is being rebuilt as part of a £250 million investment programme - in the first quarter of 2013.
The decision will also lead to the restarting of the hot strip mill at the company’s Llanwern site in Newport, South Wales.
Last year, Tata Steel launched a five-year improvement programme backed by significant investment, including almost £250 million to rebuild a blast furnace and install energy-efficient gas recycling at Port Talbot.
“The restarting of the Port Talbot furnace will improve our competitiveness and allow us to enjoy the benefits of a modern, state-of-the-art furnace, which, combined with the planned downstream investments, will also enable us to improve customer service,” Köhler said.
