Tata Steel's Dutch works council lends support to Thyssenkrupp JV

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The works council of Tata Steel’s Dutch division on Friday gave its support to the planned merger of the European activities of Tata Steel () and Thyssenkrupp ().

The Dutch council’s consent brings the conclusion of the landmark deal another step closer, after Thyssenkrupp’s labor representatives signaled their support on Thursday.

The works council said it had received enough assurances over the future of the Dutch activities after the merger, as future investments were guaranteed and forced redundancies were ruled out.

“Tata Steel Netherlands will be sufficiently ringfenced financially to safeguard its long-term continuity [and] will continue to be a company with its own board,” the council said.

The combination of Thyssenkrupp’s and Tata Steel’s European steel assets, first announced in September, would create the continent’s second-largest steelmaker after ArcelorMittal () with 15 billion euros ($17.5 billion) in combined sales.