India's Tata Steel on Friday said it would cut 1,500 jobs at plants in Britain because of falling demand for structural steel, dpa reported. Trade unions described the plans as a "devastating blow" to the regions in northeast England where the plants are based. The Indian firm said it was proposing to close or mothball part of its Scunthorpe plant, near Hull, putting at risk 1,200 jobs, as well as cutting 300 jobs at its sites on Teesside, further in the northeast. Tata said it arrived at the "difficult" decision after incurring losses in its long products division for the past two years, particularly due to a decline in the construction industry. At the same time, the company announced an investment of 400 million pounds (648 million dollars) in the division over the next five years to help it turn around. Tata, which bought Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus for 6.2 billion pounds in 2007, employs a total workforce of 42,000 in Britain. Demand for structural steel in Britain had fallen to just two-thirds of 2007 levels and was not expected to recover fully within the next five years, the company said. British Business Secretary Vince Cable said he was "very disappointed" at the news of job cuts, but welcomed the new investment.
