Tata is to axe 90 jobs in Wednesfield shop floor shake-up
Around 90 shop floor posts at steel giant Tata's Wednesfield plant are to be axed as part of a shake-up that will see hundreds of jobs go across the country.
The company's long products department, which produces beams and strips of steel, is being transferred from the Steelpark site in Wednesfield, which is the company's headquarters, to Teesside. In total Tata is closing 12 sites across the UK including distribution service centre sites in Bridgnorth Road, Wombourne; Pedmore Road, Dudley and Stallings Lane, Kingswinford.
There are 900 jobs going nationwide with 120 of those in the West Midlands.
The company's service centre at Park Road, Cradley, will move into the space that is vacated at the Steelpark site and a further 71 jobs will be created as part of an £8 million investment in a new facility.
Bosses say the site will become a "new centre of excellence in the UK" and the workers who are losing their jobs will be able to apply for jobs there.
Tata Steel says the restructuring of some of its UK businesses is needed to improve its competitiveness and enable it to be successful in changing markets.
A total of £22m is being invested in the distribution business.
Demand for steel in the markets the distribution business serves are more than 30 per cent down on the peak levels of 2007 and is showing very little sign of recovery.
Paul Steele, Tata Steel managing director for Distribution UK & Ireland, said a consultation process about the proposals was to start.
"Wherever practicable any job losses will be achieved through voluntary redundancy and redeployment within Tata Steel," he added.
Following the closures Tata Steel will have 750 staff in the region, 600 at the Steelpark. The biggest job losses will be in South Wales, including 500 at Port Talbot.
