1,600 jobs away from Tata Steel. The staff did see it coming

At the Hoogovens Museum in Velsen-Noord, where the heyday of the steel industry is exhibited in all their glory, the atmosphere is by no means cheerful on Wednesday. In a building that once served as a changing room for workers, dozens of Tata Steel employees hope to get more clarity about the thump of that morning.

But satisfactory answers do not come to the inserted staff meeting, says one of those present afterwards. Wié must remained unmentioned, on which departments the blows also fall. « It’s going to cause a lot of pain, with a lot of people, » says the man, who, for fear of « thunder » does not want with name in the newspaper.

Staalfabriek Tata Steel announced on Wednesday to want to scrap around 1,600 full -time jobs – a fifth of the total workforce, which has around 8,000 employees. The steel giant has been in heavy weather for some time and eight ‘the largest organizational change in thirty years’ necessary to get back into the green figures.

The only steel factory in the Netherlands, located in IJmuiden, has been struggling with a headwind for some time. The prices of steel are under pressure as a result of a weak car industry and the cheap import of steel from China. High energy costs further boost prices, according to the company in a statement. Tata Steel also fears the consequences of the import duties that US President Donald Trump introduced last month. The company shipped 12 percent of its steel to the United States. The taxes « affect us well, » said director Hans van den Berg on Wednesday during a digital press conference.

According to Van den Berg, the profit margins of Tata are the lowest compared to the major competitors in Europe. « We produce less while the costs have risen. An untenable situation, » concludes the CEO.

Inevitable

At the Rooswijkpoort in Velsen-Noord, one of the personnel entrances to the extensive Tata Steel site that extends over three municipalities, it is a coming and going of trucks, cars and cyclists. Most employees are hurriedly cycling, a few want to shorten something at the warranty of anonymity.

« Confusion, incomprehension and ignorance, » a man with a black hat on a mountain bike describes the feeling in the workplace. But the dismissal round is inevitable, he sees. « The market is flooded by cheap Chinese steel. We have to compete with that. And that is where the taxes are added. It all piles up. »

Unexpectedly, the announcement of Wednesday morning for him did not. « It is not the first time, so I didn’t scare it. The steel industry has high peaks and high valleys. This is back every few years. » Employees fear that the dismissal round will not be the last, as it is not the first. In 2023, Tata Steel Nederland also announced a reorganization. In addition, the company eventually deleted 580 jobs. That was then possible without forced fired. Van den Berg made it clear that this time will not be the case.

‘Significant loss’

The company was « considerable loss » last year, the director said at the press conference. In the financial year that ran until the end of March 2024, it involved more than 500 million euros. That was partly due to a disastrous restoration of one of the blast furnaces. « That has exhausted our reserves, » says Van den Berg.

The financial problems come when Tata Steel negotiates with the government about possible state aid in greening the production process. But concrete agreements are not forthcoming and the process takes much longer than expected. Tata Steel is currently responsible for around 7 percent of the total Dutch CO₂-Ill..

Van den Berg was asked at the press conference whether the dismissal round might be a condition of the government to provide support. « We must show that we are a healthy company, » Van den Berg replied. « But we decide how we get there. »

Cleaners

The company has recently tried to cut facility services, Remco Smolenaar (37) noticed. On behalf of Logistiekbedrijf ESFM, he takes care of the catering at Tata Steel. « There has already been a lot of cuts in recent weeks, » he says. According to him, cleaners in particular had to leave the field in recent weeks.

For the colleagues with whom he works, the future is uncertain. « You notice it in all conversations. There has been a zipper last year, and now again. I know one of 27 who has just bought a house. I said: I would probably think how to pay your mortgage if you have lost your job later. »

According to director Van den Berg, jobs in particular at the Tata Steel office, not in production at the seventeen different partial factories on the site. Tata Steel wants ‘fewer management layers’ and more automation. The board of directors of the factory is also becoming smaller, which goes from five to four functions.

Cinta Groos, chairman of the Central Works Council, speaks of a ‘shock’. She criticizes that the management has brought out a number of the number of jobs that disappear. « It is still a request for advice in outline. How can you come up with such a number? You put all the staff in panic and uncertainty. »

The man on the mountain bike says he has not yet thought about his future. « I am very happy here. It is hope for the best. »

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