Tata Steel's Dutch unit workers oppose deal

Works councils in the Netherlands and Germany have significant powers and their approval is required for a change of corporate structure to be carried out

The works council of Tata Steel Netherlands said on Friday it opposed preliminary plans by Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp to combine their European steelmaking operations into a joint venture and would fight to block it if necessary. 

Works council chairman Frits van Wieringen said that, after viewing the two companies’ memorandum of understanding, he was concerned they intend to dissolve the Dutch subsidiary, which would strip away legal protections, and then lay off workers. “They are talking about 10 per cent of jobs being lost, but we think it will be much more than that,” he told Reuters.

In September the two