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One of the most senior figures in Tata Steel has declined to guarantee that Port Talbot will remain open and its blast furnaces will stay running.

The steel giant revealed on Friday that it was halting the sale of its UK business and is investigating a joint venture with Germany’s ThyssenKrupp.

It has raised concerns that, if the UK steel pension deficit is wiped out by the government, a merged entity might decide to mothball the Port Talbot works.

When asked for assurances about the future of Port Talbot, Koushik Chatterjee, Group Executive Director and Tata Steel’s Executive Director for Europe, offered no guarantees.

He said Tata wanted to find a “sustainable solution for Port Talbot” and urged workers to “continue to work as hard as they always do” but made no promises.

This was his response to questions about the future of Port Talbot

(Image: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

He said: “I think one needs to look at the global steel industry at this point in time.

"The vulnerabilities of the global steel industry are very significant in the context of massive over-capacity...

“I think every business location has some degree of risks as far as future sustainability is concerned.

"And therefore our view is that we need to ensure that we build a sustainable, profitable business enterprise at each of our locations, whether it is in India or whether it is in Europe or in southeast Asia...

“Therefore I think it is important to look at it from the prism of a competitive business rather than sitting on any firm guarantees because at the end of the day the volatility of the market, the risks [to] performance, [have] to be mitigated by building a structurally competitive business and that’s what we’re focused [on] in all our sites; [the] Port Talbot supply chain is no exception to this.”

He was pressed again on providing a guarantee

Again, declining to give cast-iron assurances about the future of the UK operations, he said: “It’s not about guarantees.

"It’s about how do you make a business more profitable and sustainable for the future because there are a lot of stakeholders in this whole issue and we would like to find a balance in ensuring that we get the right outcome.”

He was asked what he would say to Port Talbot's steelworkers

“I would say the board of Tata Steel has always been very responsible to all its stakeholders, whether it is the employees, communities, shareholders, lenders and suppliers and customers.

"So, our whole intent is to look at a sustainable solution for Port Talbot and the supply chain.

“We were looking at a solution which [was] a standalone solution perhaps. We have enlarged that scope to find a solution which is part of a larger framework of alliances...

“I think from Port Talbot’s employees’ perspective it’s best that they continue to work as hard as they always do in ensuring that the performance of the business makes a great case to find a future sustainability of [the] Port Talbot supply chain because it is actually performance which speaks at the end of the day and that is the foundation for any strategic combination of alliances.

“And in our own world we have to do what we are supposed to.”

The return of stability

Mr Chatterjee looks forward to stability returning to the UK.

He said: “A change in leadership in any country does bring some level of uncertainty but I would only say that the institutions and the institutional processes are robust enough to bring back stability very soon and that’s what we think we are seeing.”

Labour divisions and union unease

His comments came on the same day that Len McCluskey, the leader of the Unite union, criticised Labour leadership challenger Angela Eagle for the impact her decision to stand could have on steelworkers.

He said in a speech in Brighton: “Let me ask Angela Eagle, who I regard as an old friend, but who resigned as Shadow Business Secretary, a question – did you give 30 seconds’ thought as to how this would help the workers at Tata, fighting for a future made still more uncertain by Brexit? Or the oil and gas industry facing obliteration?

“Or have they been abandoned in their moment of need?”

Welsh MPs demand guarantees

Aberavon’s Labour MP Stephen Kinnock and AM David Rees pressed for guarantees.

The stated: “Any developments that offer the possibility of investment and engagement that would secure a sustainable future for the British steel industry are welcome, in principle. However, in practice there are serious questions to be answered around the joint venture proposal.

“We know that ThyssenKrupp has consistently expressed interest in merging with the Dutch branch of Tata Steel, but we are not aware of any convincing evidence of them showing an interest in Tata Steel’s UK operations, until now. The central concern is therefore that once the joint venture has been finalised then Tata Steel’s current UK operations, including Port Talbot, might not receive the support and investment they require.”

They continued: “Clear assurances are therefore urgently required that the planned joint venture would in no way diminish Port Talbot and the rest of Tata Steel’s UK Strip Products Division, to the advantage of the Dutch operation.

“We now trust that Tata Steel, ThyssenKrupp and the British Government will provide guarantees about their long term investment strategy for the UK business, including the two blast furnaces in Port Talbot, and they must also offer clarity about the future working relationship between the British and Dutch operations.”

Pushing for “cast-iron” assurances, they stated: “These guarantees should also clearly indicate that Tata Steel is committed to the business through thick and thin. Steel is a fiercely competitive global industry, cyclical in nature, with up’s and down’s being a constant feature of the business.

“It is therefore vital that Tata Steel provides cast-iron assurances that it will not be knocked off balance by a future downturn, and that we will not be back to square one a year or two from now. The workforce are currently in the midst of a painful restructuring, and so clarity is required regarding Tata Steel’s plans on cost-cutting.”