500 job losses at Tata Steel in ‘Long Products’ restructure -No Jobs will be effected in Shotton.

Tata Steel announce a restructuring proposal for its‘Long Products business’

The proposed changes affect predominately management and administrative functions at sites in Scunthorpe, Teesside and Workington and could lead to the loss of around 500 jobs.

About 340 positions could be affected in Scunthorpe, 90 in Workington and 40 in Teesside

A Tata spokesperson has confirmed to Deeside.com that no jobs will be affected in Shotton due to the proposed restructure as it is a different division of the Tata Steel business.

The proposals come amid a prolonged downturn in demand for some of the key products made by the Scunthorpe-based business, including the UK market for construction steel, which is about half of 2007 levels.

Karl Koehler, CEO of Tata Steel’s European operations, said:

“European steel demand this year is expected to be only two-thirds of pre-crisis levels after falls in the past two years.

“On top of the challenging economic conditions, rules covering energy and the environment in Europe and the UK threaten to impose huge additional costs on the steel industry.

“As difficult as the proposed changes are, they are intended to build a stronger future by enabling the Long Products business to compete in even the current challenging economic and regulatory conditions.

“We will of course engage fully with employees, trade unions and our political stakeholders during this restructuring process. We will do everything we can to support our employees through this unsettling time.”

Michael Leahy, General Secretary of Community and Chair of the UK Steel unions’ Committee said:

“We are obviously very concerned to hear this news and are doing all we can to support those affected by the announcement. We recognise the business has been dealing with a downturn in some of its markets for the past five years. Nevertheless, today’s news once again reflects the fragile state of our economy and the lack of any real impetus by government to support our manufacturing base.

“Community is seeking an urgent meeting with the company to get their agreement to extending the consultation period to allow for all alternatives to be explored and also to reiterate Community’s opposition to any compulsory redundancy.”

A consultation process will begin soon with affected employees and their representatives.

The company will make every effort to achieve the job losses through voluntary redundancies, though it is important that critical skills are retained. A comprehensive range of redundancy packages and outplacement support services will be made available to those leaving the company.