Tata Steel warns of possible UK production closure

As Tata Steel's UK losses in 2019 increased to £ 371million, Tata Steel warned that the steel mill must become self-sustaining or close. Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran told the Sunday Times that the company will not continue to subsidize a loss-making operation just to ensure its survival. Chandrasekaran defiantly declined to commit to continuing steel production in the UK, but said: “I need to get into a situation where at least Port Talbot is self-sustaining. Whether in the Netherlands or here, we cannot have a situation where India continues to fund losses. "

A spokesman for Tata Steel Europe said: “What our chairman said in the interview has already been communicated to colleagues as part of our transformation agenda. This program aims to create a stronger and more sustainable European steel business by increasing profitability so that we can pay for the investments needed to secure our long-term future. Plans include increased productivity, reduced bureaucracy and increased sales of higher value steel, as well as lower employment costs. ”

The announcement came after the company confirmed it would cut 1,000 jobs in the UK.

Tata owns the Port Talbot steel plant since it paid £ 6.2bn in 2007 to take over the Anglo-Dutch steel mill Corus. Port Talbot in South Wales produces about 5 million tonnes of steel slabs per year and employs about 4,000 workers with many more in its supply chain.