Nov. 27, 2019 - Tata Steel Europe today (27 November) 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 (EWC), Tata Steel Europe shared initial proposals about its transformation programme as outlined on 18 November. 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.

As part of the comprehensive set of proposals, 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 in Europe CEO, Henrik Adam, said: “I’m very proud to see the dedication of everyone in this business, determined to succeed even in the face of a very tough market. I also understand and appreciate colleagues’ concerns about these proposals. Change creates uncertainty, but we cannot afford to stand still as a company – the world around us is changing fast and we have to adapt. Our strategy is to build a strong and stable European business, capable of making significant investments needed for a successful future.”

Tata Steel agreed with the EWC on a forward process and will meet again in the coming weeks to discuss further details. It will continue to update its employees and other stakeholders during the process.