Tata Steel plans to cut up to 3,000 jobs across its European operations, the company said on Monday, as the sector wrestles with excess supply, weak demand, and high costs.
The announcement came after weeks of speculation that the steel giant, which employs 11,000 workers in the Netherlands, would cut thousands of jobs to tackle structural challenges and weaker demand for European steel that is compounded by the US-China trade conflict.
The group employed around 20,000 workers across the continent.
In a statement, Tata said it was urgently seeking to improve performance by increasing sales of higher value products, efficiency gains and reducing employment costs by cutting employee numbers by up to 3,000 across its European operations. Around two-thirds of the job, losses are expected to be office-based roles.
“Stagnant EU steel demand and global overcapacity have been compounded by trade conflicts which have turned the European market into a dumping ground for the world’s excess steel capacity,” Tata further said.
Tata’s announcement follows the collapse in May of a mooted merger with the German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp aimed at dealing with a surge in Chinese-made steel.
The two groups called off talks however after the EU made clear that it would not allow the merger on competition grounds.
Thyssenkrupp then announced plans to slash 6,000 jobs, mainly in Germany, and filed a complaint at an EU court against the European Commission for blocking the merger plan.
