India's Tata Steel CEO says no change in UK job cut plan

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Blast furnaces of the Tata Steel plant seen at sunset in Port Talbot

Thu, August 1, 2024 

By Neha Arora and Manvi Pant

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's Tata Steel will not change its plans on proposed job cuts in Britain, while it evaluates the need for more funding from the new UK government, CEO T. V. Narendran told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

Tata, Britain's biggest steel producer, last month began the process of closing down one of its carbon-intensive blast furnaces, with the shutdown of its other furnace slated for September.

The two furnaces shutting down will likely result in the loss of up to 2,800 jobs at Port Talbot in South Wales.

Britain's business minister Jonathan Reynolds said in July that the new government was prioritising avoiding job losses in talks with Tata Steel over government backing for a transition to lower-carbon technologies.

"The compulsory redundancies, which is the point where the unions, the government and us need to see - how do we address that," Narendran said, adding they would also look at re-skilling.

The company is also evaluating the need to seek more funding from the government to build more steelmaking facilities, Narendran said.

The new government in Britain will need to sign the 500-million-pound ($635 million) support package that the previous government agreed on with Tata Steel to help build a lower-carbon electric arc furnace.

In India, the steelmaker said it had asked the government to look into rising imports, particularly from China.

India, the world's second-biggest crude steel producer, turned net steel importer in the fiscal year through March. Finished steel imports scaled a five-year high in April and May, according to provisional government data.

"Chinese exports coming directly into India and also indirectly through Southeast Asia is a concern," Narendran said.

India's federal Ministry of Steel has asked the trade ministry to investigate cheaper steel imports from China and Vietnam, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Tata Steel expects demand in India to pick up from October through March, Narendran said, driven by the construction sector, automobiles and railways, among others.

(Reporting by Neha Arora and Manvi Pant; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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