Zee Media Bureau


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New Delhi: British Minister Sajid Javid on Wednesday said Tata Steel would launch sale process for UK business by Monday with the David Cameron government helping secure a serious buyer.


The British government is determined to secure a long-term viable future for UK steel sector and its workers, Vajid said after meeting Tata officials in Mumbai.


 


British business secretary Sajid Javid met the chief of Tata Group Cyrus Mistry in Mumbai on Wednesday, a company spokesman said, seeking to secure an agreement on the future of the Indian firm's UK steel assets.


Last week, Tata Steel announced plans to sell its UK business citing "deteriorating financial performance".


The move comes nine years after the company bought Corus to become Europe's second larget steel maker.


 


"Following the strategic view taken by Tata Steel Board regarding the UK business, it has advised the Board of its European holding company, Tata Steel Europe, to explore all options for portfolio restructuring including the potential divestment of Tata Steel UK, in whole or in parts," Tata Steel had said in a statement.


Jolted by the decision, the unions gave a call for nationalisation while the government authorities have assured nearly 17,000 workers at the company plants across the UK that all possible options would be explored to safeguard their interest.


 


Amidst the crisis, British Prime Minister David Cameron assured the nation that his government was "doing everything it can" to save thousands of jobs in the crisis-hit steel industry but warned there were "no guarantees of success".


However, the workers at Tata Steel could take heart from another Indian-origin businessman Sanjeev Gupta who met Sajid Javid and said he is waiting for Tatas to start the "sales process" and promised that there will not be any major job cuts.