U.K. Treasury Urged to Move Quickly to Save Tata Operations

(Bloomberg) -- Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is being urged to move quickly to rescue Tata Steel Ltd’s British operations, as the company struggles with the impact of the coronavirus lockdown.

Tata employs 8,000 people in the U.K., half of them in Port Talbot in Wales. The local member of parliament, Stephen Kinnock, said it was urgent that the government acts to save the jobs. He has previously put the hole in the company’s cashflow at 500 million pounds ($620 million)

“This government talk a good game on leveling up but that’s just empty rhetoric if it is not backed up by real action and investment,” Kinnock said in an interview. “There can be no post-pandemic economic recovery without a strong and healthy steel industry.”

The Financial Times reported Wednesday that a support deal was close. The government and Tata both refused to discuss the loan application. On Wednesday, an official with knowledge of the matter suggested the government isn’t near a deal with Tata, saying the FT story is off the mark.

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