* Tata says there will be no plant closures
* Says aim is to ensure long-term future
* Steel industry battling against costs, excess capacity
(Updates with figure on job cuts)
By Bart H. Meijer and Barbara Lewis
AMSTERDAM/London, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Tata Steel
plans to cut around 3,000 jobs across its European operations as
it wrestles with excess supply, a source close to the
discussions told Reuters on Monday.
Earlier, the group's European chief executive Henrik Adam
said Tata was planning to announce job cuts across the European
business, which employs around 20,000 people, but did not give
figures on job losses.
Following a meeting of Dutch employees, a source told
Reuters around 3,000 jobs would go and details would be worked
out over the coming weeks.
A Tata spokesman had no immediate comment on the number.
Indian-owned Tata Steel, which launched a transformation
programme in June to strengthen its European business, has
operations including steelmaking in the Netherlands and Wales
and downstream operations across Europe.
There will be no plant closures but the aim is to shield the
company against the "huge number of challenges" it faces, Tata
said.
"We are working hard on our plans to be operationally cash
positive," Adam said.
A company spokesman confirmed Adam's comments originally
made to the Financial Times newspaper.
Steel making in Europe has come under strain from
international competition and high energy costs, putting large
numbers of well-paid jobs under threat.
European steelmakers blame China for the extent of a surplus
in the market, but the world's biggest steelmaker says it has
made its own deep cuts to capacity.
Britain last week said Chinese steelmaker Jingye has signed
a provisional deal to buy British Steel, which went into
compulsory liquidation in May.
The agreement is politically resonant ahead of British
elections as job opportunities have become a major issue. If
confirmed, the rescue could save thousands of jobs.
ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, has
idled a series of plants across Europe.
Tata Steel said on Monday challenging market conditions had
been made "worse by the use of Europe as a dumping ground for
the world's excess capacity".
The company's European transformation programme launched in
June aimed to develop "a simpler and leaner organisation,
capable of sustainably financing high levels of investment, Tata
said.
Changes will include streamlining supply chains and using
technology to improve efficiency, as well as seeking to cut
employment costs.
Tata's quest to boost profitability follows a European
anti-trust decision to block a joint venture with Germany's
Thyssenkrupp.
Eurofer, which represents the European steel industry, said
in an email job losses were "a worrying and upsetting trend"
caused by global overcapacity and hesitant demand.
It urged EU policy makers "to help stabilise the EU market
by warding off import surges and supporting vital steel sector
workers during this challenging period".
(Editing by Jane Merriman)