India’s Tata Steel says it is cutting steel output at its Corus unit in the UK and the Netherlands to cope with a fall in demand.

It plans to cut steel production by up to 20% over the next three months or by about 1 million metric tonnes.

Corus chief executive Philippe Varin said that demand for the raw material had been hit by the “consequences of the global financial crisis”.

No change in Tata’s production levels is expected outside Europe.

“We are taking appropriate steps to optimise our operations and protect our sound financial position over the next few months,” Mr Varin said.

The price of steel, along with the price of other raw materials such as oil and metals, has been falling in the past three months on fears that a global slowdown will lead to lower demand.

These fears have intensified in recent weeks as the impact of the financial crisis on the wider economy becomes clearer.

Corus is Europe’s second-largest steel producer, with annual revenues of more than £12bn.

News reported by The BBC

India’s Tata group has abandoned plans to build the world’s cheapest car in the eastern state of West Bengal.

Tata group chief Ratan Tata said: “We have little choice but to move out of Bengal. We cannot run a factory with police around all the time.”

He was speaking after protests in a row over land acquired from local farmers.

The car, the Nano, is expected to cost about 100,000 rupees ($2,130). It was due to be launched in October and will be ready “this year”, Mr Tata said.

“We will have to make the best of the deadline that we have” Tata group chief Ratan Tata

The BBC’s Subir Bhuamik in Calcutta says the company is initially expected to produce several thousand Nanos this year at other sites in India.

It had planned to make 250,000 cars a year at the Singur plant in West Bengal, rising to 350,000.

A number of other car firms also plan vehicles to compete with the Nano but have not yet begun production.

The dispute in West Bengal highlights a wider problem between India’s growing industry – which needs land – and its farmers who are unwilling to give it up.

‘Offers’

Work at Tata’s Singur plant has been suspended since the end of August following protests led by the state’s opposition Trinamul Congress party.

Exclusive look at the Tata Nano

Mr Tata said the Nano will be built “within this year but I can’t tell you where”.

“We are going to do everything possible to come close to the deadline we had established,” he told journalists in Calcutta.

“We have got offers from several Indian states but we have not yet finalised where to produce the Nano… All these issues we will announce in the next few days when we have a clearer picture.”

Mr Tata said his group would still consider West Bengal as an investment destination in future.

“I value the considerable intellectual resources this state has, but something will have to change here,” he said.

He was speaking after meeting the West Bengal chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya and his colleagues.

“This is a black day for Bengal. We will have so much more difficulty getting investments now,” said the state’s industry minister, Nirupam Sen.

Compensation

The West Bengal government acquired 1,000 acres of land for the Nano project two years ago.

More than 10,000 farmers accepted compensation for their land, but just over 2,000 of them refused and demanded land be returned.

During the protests Tata’s engineers and workers were attacked, prompting the group to stop work.

Our correspondent says the Bengal governor then intervened and tried to mediate a deal between the government and the opposition but that did not work.

The plant was seen as a key part of industrialisation efforts in what is one of India’s least developed states.

News reported by The BBC

Tata Motors has threatened to pull out of West Bengal state where it is building a factory to roll out the world’s cheapest car, Nano.

Opposition groups have been protesting violently for over two years, accusing the state government of taking 997 acres of farmland at Singur by force.

In January, a court dismissed claims that land was acquired illegally.

The Nano car, priced at $2,500, was unveiled by industrialist Ratan Tata earlier this year.

The building of the Nano factory is well under way.

The Tata group was aiming to start selling the car in mid-2008, but it has been delayed because of the protests.

West Bengal’s Marxist government is trying to attract investment to rejuvenate the state’s ailing economy.

‘Not conducive’

“We are deeply concerned about the violence, disruption and the safety of our employees, equipment and investments at the project site,” chairman of the group Ratan Tata told reporters in the state capital, Calcutta.

“Obviously it is not a conducive atmosphere. The compound wall has been broken down, materials stolen. We cannot operate a plant with police protection. If this happens even before we start production, then what would happen later?” Mr Tata asked.

Protests have been held against the factory for two years now

Recently, several engineers and workers at the factory were threatened by opposition groups after which most of the workers fled and the construction work almost came to a halt.

“It is for the people of West Bengal and Calcutta to decide whether we are unwanted, or to accept us as a good corporate citizen. If we are unwanted here, then we would have to make a move,” he said.

Tata Motors has already invested 15 billion rupees ($38m) in the small car project.

“Whatever be the cost, we will move out if the situation demands so,” he said.

The opposition Trinamul Congress party which is heading the protests against the project says the state government has acquired farmland by force.

The party is insisting that the company return 400 acres of land earmarked for ancillary units to farmers who are not willing to part with their land.

The company says it is necessary to keep the ancillary units in the same location to keep the costs low.

With the state government refusing to accept the opposition’s demands, a deadlock has been created leading to a rise in tension and violence in the project area.

Trinamul leader Mamata Banerjee has said they would go ahead with their planned sit-in protests around the Tata factory from Sunday.

News reported by The BBC