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As a society, we must take all scenarios into account and not let employment be the decisive argument for retaining Tata Steel at all costs.
The government stated on March 28 that it wants to help Tata Steel Netherlands become more sustainable, with the main reason being the steel industry and preserving jobs. Unfortunately, health is not the main reason, although on February 28 it was confirmed again by the Expert Group led by Marcel Levi that the health risks for local residents and employees of Tata Steel due to emissions from the steel factory are underestimated.
Green Steel plan very uncertain
Tata Steel Netherlands’ Green Steel Plan is an ambitious plan with the ambition to drastically reduce CO2 emissions from the steel factory in IJmuiden. The technology for hydrogen reduction (H2-DR) that is central to the plan is still under development and scaling up is complex. Moreover, there is insufficient cheap green hydrogen available to realize Tata Steel’s plans. All current wind turbines and solar panels are not enough for the energy needs of Tata Steel alone.
The investment costs for the Green Steel plan are enormous. Parent company Tata Steel India has already indicated that it does not want to contribute and is looking to the Dutch government for investments. The business case is very uncertain due to future steel prices, too high costs of green hydrogen (compared to hydropower and sunny destinations such as Mauritania, the Middle East and China). European competitors in Sweden, Germany, Belgium and France are 5-10 years ahead of Tata Steel. These parties have already received working green steel installations or received subsidies and ordered the installations. Tata Steel has only just started the licensing process, which could take at least two years.
North Holland has a resilient labor market
Tata Steel/Hoogovens still had 28,000 employees in 1990, that will be 9,000 in 2024 and another 800 jobs will disappear this year. In short, only 0.6% of the working population in North Holland works at Tata Steel. Tata Steel itself states that 20,000 jobs are directly and indirectly linked to the factory.
Despite the fact that Tata Steel has an aging workforce, the labor market opportunities for all target groups within Tata Steel are good to very good. The skills and positions are in demand in the region and the over-50s and over-60s also have good opportunities. The labor market in the Netherlands is tight. In the IJmond there are more vacancies than unemployed people. This means that Tata Steel employees, with their skills and experience, will have no difficulty finding a new job, according to research by labor market consultancy Intelligence Group.
Alternatives to Tata Steel
There are several alternatives to Tata Steel in the IJmond. The region can redevelop with a focus on a sustainable economy, for example with activities in the field of offshore wind energy, circular economy or biobased economy. The port of IJmuiden can play an important role in the energy transition. There are already plans for the development of an offshore wind farm and the construction of a hydrogen terminal. The closure of Tata Steel will undoubtedly have an impact on the IJmond. However, the disruption does not have to be major and can in no way be compared to the mine closures in Limburg.
The lobby is strong
VNO-NCW, FNV, the hydrogen industry led by Shell and the FME (entrepreneurs’ organization for the technological industry) are knocking on the door of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the House of Representatives to argue for subsidies for the Green Steel plan. But politicians and policymakers can no longer insist that the employment argument should be decisive. As a society, we must take multiple scenarios into account and not allow loss of employment to be used as a specter to push the importance of health to a secondary place.
