Tata Steel Europe has engaged with its European Works Council to discuss further details of proposals for a transformation programme designed to safeguard its long term future. It aims to build a financially strong and sustainable European business, able to make the investments required to accelerate innovation and the company’s journey towards carbon-neutral steelmaking. During the meeting, which marked the official start of the employee consultation process with the European Works Council, Tata Steel Europe shared initial proposals about its transformation programme as outlined on 18 November. Tata Steel Europe intends to lower employment costs. This is expected to lead to an estimated reduction in employee numbers of up to 3,000, about two-thirds of which would be management and office-based roles. Up to 1,600 are expected in the Netherlands, 1,000 in the UK and 350 elsewhere in the world.
Tata Steel agreed with the EWC on a forward process and will meet again in the coming weeks to discuss further details.
The programme is focused on four areas to improve financial performance.
Increasing sales of higher-value steels by improving product mix and customer focus.
Efficiency gains by optimising production processes, supported by the application of big data and advanced analytics.
Lowering employment costs, leading to an estimated reduction in employee numbers of up to 3,000 across Tata Steel Europe’s operations, about two-thirds of which are expected to be management and office-based roles.
Reduction of procurement costs through smarter sourcing and strengthening cooperation with companies within the Tata Steel group.