Workers at Tata Steel IJmuiden ended a 25-day strike on July 3 after the company indicated it would not lay off any workers at the steel plant in a new agreement with the union.
Under the new agreement, the company has agreed to not initiating any forced layoffs at the IJmuien branch in the Netherlands before October 2026.
Tata Steel previously announced the potential of thousands of layoffs throughout Europe as a result of a reorganization. Part of the plan included the loss of 1,000 full-time jobs at Ijmuiden. The Dutch CEO of Tata Steel’s European segment resigned in May as a result, as employees alleged that the reorganization would help the steelmaker’s UK entities but was not aligned with current demand or the Netherlands entity’s business.
Tata Steel will not force redundancies but may reduce jobs through accelerated retirement and other voluntary programs, the company noted. If workforce reduction does become necessary during the six-year period, the company said it would develop a plan that will then be discussed with the union’s work council before taking any steps.
The union also negotiated investment retention, accommodations for older workers with wages and pension accrual spared, and a future commitment to work together proactively.