Tata Steel To Lay Off 2,500 UK Workers Amid Transition To Greener Steelmaking

Tata Steel, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, is set to lay off approximately 2,500 workers at its UK operations as it transitions to a greener steelmaking process. The company's CEO, T V Narendran, indicated that the loss of jobs at the UK site, which is currently in a transition phase, is “inevitable.” In response, workers' unions have been vocally criticizing the impending job cuts and have been actively protesting against the company in the UK, according to a PTI report.

Tata Steel, based in India, owns the UK’s largest steelworks with a capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) at Port Talbot in South Wales, employing around 8,000 people across all its UK operations.

The job cuts are part of Tata Steel’s plan to decarbonise its operations by transitioning from the traditional blast furnace steelmaking process to a more environmentally friendly low-emission electric arc furnace (EAF) method. This shift, while reducing carbon emissions by 5 million tonnes annually, also necessitates a smaller workforce.

Narendran, in an interview with PTI, explained that the move to EAF, supported by the UK government, will make the company more competitive by lowering production costs and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 5 million tonnes per year.

“But all this involves 2,500 job losses, and that is what the unions are obviously not happy with. We are in ongoing discussions with the unions to manage this transition as smoothly as possible. However, it is inevitable," Narendran said.