Posted on 19 Oct 2015
Amid reports that Indian steel giant
Tata SteelBSE -1.04 % is expected to announce 1,200 job cuts in the UK, the
country's top steel trade body has said the industry is in "crisis"
and needs "life-saving surgery".
Director of UK Steel Gareth Stace has urged on Business Secretary Sajid Javid
to honour promises he has made to address some of the challenges facing the
industry.
The call comes as Tata Steel is
expected to announce 1,200 job cuts this week at sites in Scunthorpe and
Lanarkshire.
Javid said, "there is no straightforward solution to the complex global
challenges" facing the industry.
"Sajid Javid needs to deliver
now, in days and weeks not months and years, on energy costs, business rates
costs and fair trade," Stace was quoted as saying by the BBC.
"What I would say is that we need to stem this flow of blood, not with
sticking plasters but now with life-saving surgery. The steel industry really
is now in crisis," he said.
Meanwhile, leading NRI industrialist
Lord Swraj Paul has also expressed his sadness over reports of the UK's
struggling steel industry.
"It has been a really sad day. The steel industry is really under pressure
and no solution seems to be in sight," said the chairman of the Caparo
Group, that has interests in the steel industry.
According to media reports, Tata
Steel is expected to significantly reduce the workforce at its Scunthorpe site,
which employs 4,000 people and is one of the UK's largest steel plants.
Tata has not yet confirmed the job cuts but said it has been facing challenges
in the UK, including a surge in steel imports and the strong pound.
