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Tata to sell UK steel plants Tata to sell its UK steel plants
(35 minutes later)
Tata Steel planning to sell its Long Products division, which employs 6,500 in the UK, the company announces Tata Steel is planning to sell its Long Products division, which employs 6,500 in the UK and Europe.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. Tata said it has signed an agreement with Klesch Group, a global commodities company, with headquarters in Geneva, which it hopes will lead to a sale.
If you want to receive Breaking News alerts via email, or on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App then details on how to do so are available on this help page. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts. The division includes operations in Scunthorpe and Teesside in England and Dalzell and Clydebridge in Scotland.
It also includes sites in Workington and York, as well as other operations in France and Germany.
Tata has signed a memorandum of understanding with the commodities group, formalising its intention to agree a sale.
"We will now move into detailed due diligence and negotiations, though no assurance can be given about the outcome," Karl Koehler, chief executive of Tata Steel's European operations, said in a statement.
'Extremely disappointed'
Tata Steel employs 30,500 people across Europe, including 17,500 in the UK. The Long Products division provides steel rail, rod, plate and other steel products to the construction and excavation industries.
The company said it would consult trade unions throughout the process.
However, Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of the steelworkers' union Community, said members were not satisfied.
"We're extremely disappointed with the way that Tata Steel have handled this announcement, which does not reflect well on Tata's values," he said.
The unions, Community, Unite and the GMB, said in a joint statement: "Tata Steel has failed to consult at all with the trade unions before making this move, which could have serious consequences for employees and contractors right across Tata Steel, not just within the Long Products business that it wants to sell."