The European branch of Tata Steel is looking for ways to save costs. Among other things, the steel giant is considering whether certain activities should be discontinued. That is stated in an internal communication. According to a spokesperson for Tata Steel Netherlands, job losses cannot be excluded.
For cost savings, joint purchasing with the Indian parent company and simplifying processes are also envisaged. There will also be a study into the efficiency of all European departments, says Hans Fischerer’s communication to staff. It is still unclear what the consequences are for employees. “Everything known so far is contained in that letter,” said the spokesman.
The interventions must ensure that Tata Steel Europe achieves its annual targets and can stand on its own two feet without investing from India. To achieve this, the American company Alvarez & Marsal, specialized in ‘major transformations’, was hired.
Roger Bayly, a board member of that company, becomes a member of the executive board of Tata Steel in Europe and becomes a transformation director. Fischer emphasizes in his statement that Bayly has many years of experience “with complex transformations and making large industrial companies like ours financially healthy.”
In addition to the former Hoogovens in IJmuiden, Tata Steel Europe also includes a steel plant in Wales and smaller locations in, for example, Belgium, Germany and Finland. The company is struggling with industry peers with falling steel prices, partly due to a larger influx of cheap steel from China due to steel taxes from the United States. An intended merger of the European steel activities with that of ThyssenKrupp, which was to provide cost benefits, was recently unsuccessful.
Around 21,000 employees work at Tata Steel Europe. In the Netherlands, Tata Steel employs around 10,000 people, 9,000 of whom are active in IJmuiden.
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