After departure of Cyrus Mistry, interim chair Ratan Tata is reviewing site as sources say he is keen to keep UK operations

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Tata is preparing to make a decision about the future of the Port Talbot steelworks within four weeks after the Indian conglomerate forced out its boss, with the company edging towards keeping its UK operations.

Ratan Tata, the interim chairman who took over from Cyrus Mistry this month, is understood to be conducting a detailed review of Tata Steel UK before making a final decision.

However, the Tata family scion, who oversaw the Indian company’s acquisition of Corus for £6.2bn in 2007, is keen to keep the UK steel operations.

The future of Tata Steel UK and its 11,000 workers have been in doubt since its Indian owner announced in March it was reviewing the future of the business.

Tata then revealed in July it was in negotiations with German company ThyssenKrupp about merging their European steel operations, with the UK business set to be included in the deal if an agreement could be reached with the government to restructure its pension scheme.

But UK steelworkers faced further uncertainty last week when Mistry – who had driven the talks with ThyssenKrupp – was ousted as chairman of Tata.

However, one Tata source said this was positive news for the UK and that Ratan Tata would now commit to turning around its steel operations.

They said Ratan Tata was analysing whether to go ahead with the ThyssenKrupp deal and proposals to sell Tata Steel’s speciality steel arm, which employs 2,000 people in north-east England, before announcing his plan for the business.

“They will urgently make a decision, but whatever happens Tata will stay [in the UK steel business],” the source said. “Ratan Tata will go through in detail and analyse.”



Ratan Tata was chairman of the company for more than two decades before standing aside for Mistry in 2012. He is a renowned anglophile and made a string of acquisitions in the UK, including Jaguar Land Rover, Tetley tea, and Corus, which was previously known as British steel.

The board of Tata deposed Mistry for several reasons – including a clash of cultures – but it was further unsettled by his plan to offload all or part of the UK steel business. The company has a reputation in India for its long-term approach and commitment to supporting communities.

Ratan Tata is due to act as interim chairman for four months. However, the permanent replacement for Mistry is almost certain to be supportive of Ratan Tata’s approach, given his influence.

Theresa May, the UK prime minister, is leading a trade delegation to India next week, although it is unclear whether she will meet Tata representatives.

A government spokesperson said: “A great deal of work has been done to support the steel industry, including tackling the dumping of cheap imports into the EU and introducing guidelines so that, wherever possible, UK steel is used in government projects.

“The recent reopening of the plate mills in Scotland and British Steel taking over the Scunthorpe site and hiring more people shows the sector can remain competitive with the right investment.”