Working on investment to support workers who would lose jobs at UK unit: Tata’s N Chandrasekaran

Tata Steel is working with the UK government and unions to ensure an adequate level of investment for supporting skill development of workers who would be impacted due to the modernisation of its Port Talbot plant, according to the company’s chairman N Chandrasekaran. As part of its decarbonisation plan, Tata Steel is shifting to a low-emission electric arc furnace (EAF) process from an ageing blast furnace at Port Talbot mill, resulting in job losses of around 2,500 people. Addressing the 117th Annual General Meeting of Tata Steel on Monday, Chandrasekaran said that the company recognises that this transformation is difficult from an execution perspective and also difficult for some of the employees who will not have a future with Tata Steel, especially in the UK.

“The company is working with the government and with the unions to make sure that we do sufficient level of investment to be able to support them in their skill development so they can have a better future.

The EAF project will reduce CO2 emissions by 5 million tonnes per annum, ensure continuity of steelmaking in Port Talbot and preserve a majority of jobs, although there will be job losses in Tata Steel UK, the Tata Steel chairman said.

He did not elaborate further on the investments.

Chandrasekaran also said that until the transition is complete, there is a need to protect the downstream assets and rolling mills in Tata Steel UK which will be fed with imported slabs and coils ensuring supplies to the customers.

Tata Steel owns a 3 million tonne per annum (MTPA) Port Talbot steel unit in South Wales and employs around 8,000 people across all its operations in the UK.

Tata Steel and the UK government in September 2923 agreed on a joint investment plan of 1.25 billion pounds to execute decarbonisation plans at Port Talbot facility.

Tata Steel CEO and MD T V Narendran had earlier told PTI that job loss for around 2,500 workers at Tata Steel’s operations in the UK was inevitable.

Regarding the company’s India operations, Chandrasekaran said, “We look forward to the commissioning of the second blast furnace at Kalinganagar…during the second quarter of this fiscal year. This will take the overall production capacity of hot metal to 8 MTPA at Kalinganagar.”

The aim is also to increase Tata Steel Kalinganagar‘s capacity further in the third phase (after completion of the current phase) from 8 MTPA to 13 MTPA later in the future, he said.

In the Netherlands, the company is in discussions with the Dutch Government for financial and policy-level support on a major decarbonisation plan to replace one of the two blast furnaces, he informed.

On Friday Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on domestic steel major Tata Steel to negative on account of uncertainty surrounding the turnaround of the company’s operations in the UK.

However, the expected robust growth in Tata Steel’s India operations and likely EBITDA profits at Dutch operations in FY25, may offset any losses at UK operations, Fitch Ratings said in the report.

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