Following the decision by India’s Tata Steel to sell all or part of its UK business, Think Tank IPPR has looked at the potential job losses at the plants themselves and in the supply chain, in the event that no buyer can be found. Tata Steel’s UK business employs 15,000 people, with a further 25,000 jobs in the supply chain estimated to depend on the steel plants. The largest plant is in Port Talbot, South Wales, where there are currently around 4,000 workers and a further 6,600 dependent jobs in the supply chain.
The supply chain job losses are likely to hit manufacturers & suppliers of iron, manufacturers of machinery, and processors and suppliers of coke & petroleum, some of which will be based outside of the UK. Experts at IPPR say in reality the likely job losses related to the closure of Tata steel plants will be higher as these estimates do not capture the further impact of lost demand in the local economies from reduced spending power of workers and their families. This could lead to further business closures & job losses outside of the steel sector.
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