Tata Steel suggests an extra GBP 130 million help package for UK workers at Port Talbot: CFO

Tata Steel suggests an extra GBP 130 million help package for UK workers at Port Talbot: CFO

This is on top of the £100 million that the business has donated GBP 20 million to the transition board that it established in collaboration with the governments of Wales and the United Kingdom, he added.

According to him, Tata Steel UK plans to close its first blast furnace by the middle of this year, and its second furnace would close in the second half of 2024.

In line with its transformation strategy, Tata Steel has offered a further financial'support package' to impacted UK workers valued at around £130 million, according to the company's CFO, Kaushik Chatterjee.

The business created a decarbonization strategy for Tata Steel UK that involves installing new plant equipment with low-emission technology in order to minimize energy expenses and decrease carbon emissions.

As a result, in 2024 the business plans to phase out its high-emission blast furnaces and coke ovens and switch to an electric arc furnace (EAF) for producing steel. This would need an investment of around £1.25 billion, with funding of £500 million. Chatterjee said on an earnings call that it came from the UK government.

"Tata Steel will seriously discuss with our workers and give them with a fair price. We are well aware of the effect our plan to shut the heavy end of Port Talbot would have on those connected to our steel operations and the surrounding community. Will work "A respectful and deliberate conclusion," he said.

According to the CFO, Tata Steel has committed to provide impacted staff with a comprehensive assistance package worth over £130 million. This is on top of the £100 million that the business has donated GBP 20 million to the transition board that it established in collaboration with the governments of Wales and the United Kingdom, he added.

"We have worked very hard over the last 15 years to support this (UK) business," said T V Narendran, CEO and MD of Tata Steel. However, I believe we have reached a point where there is no longer any choice, even if we intended to go on as before." "This is a challenging circumstance for our staff members. We totally understand it," he said.

According to him, Tata Steel UK plans to close its first blast furnace by the middle of this year, and its second furnace would close in the second half of 2024. Over a ten-year period, 50 million tons of CO2 emissions would be avoided, according to Narendran, if steel production switched to EAF.

With its headquarters in India, Tata Steel is the owner of the biggest steelworks in the UK, located in Port Talbot, South Wales, and it employs around 8,000 people nationwide.

Tata Steel and the UK government reached an agreement in September 2023 to jointly spend £1.25 billion toward the implementation of decarbonization plans at the Port Talbot steel production site in the UK.