Tata boss told: You’ve got deal of the century
MPs grill steel firm’s CEO over 2,800 job cuts
TATA Steel has bagged the “deal of the century” after getting £500million of taxpayers’ money while axing 2,800 jobs, its boss was told yesterday.
T.V. Narendran, its global chief executive, faced MPs to defend plans to shut two blast furnaces at its Port Talbot plant in South Wales.
Mr Narendran insisted Tata had “tried very hard over the past 15 years to keep this business going”, but said the polluting furnaces were reaching the end of their life.
Tata plans to replace the old furnaces with an electric arc version to recycle scrap steel – but it will not be built for four years and will require fewer workers.
The Government has agreed to stump up £500million of the £1.2billion bill. Tory MP Stephen
Crabb, Commons Welsh Affairs Committee chair, said: “We have a plan that doesn’t save the blast furnaces, doesn’t save jobs at Port Talbot and you have managed to get the UK government to give £500million for it. That must be the deal of the century.” Mr Narendran replied: “While we have not been able to save jobs at Port Talbot, we have saved 5,000 in Tata UK because of the proposals.”
Unions earlier told MPs the 2,800 job losses at Port Talbot were the “tip of the iceberg” in the local area.
GMB also claimed Tata is building three similar blast furnaces to the ones it is closing here in India, and plans to import steel from there back to the UK.
Mr Narendran said Tata is losing over £1million a day in the UK, and keeping the blast furnaces running would cost another £600million.
The company made a £3billion global profit last year.
Unite’s Sharon Graham said: “This is crunch time for UK steel and the future of Port Talbot. Tata must change direction.”