TATA Steel has announced plans to cut around 3000 jobs across its European operations in a bid to build a more sustainable business.

The steel-making giant, which has a plant in Shotton, outlined the "transformation programme" on Monday, which it said were needed so it can thrive, despite severe market headwinds.

About two-thirds of the 3000 job losses are expected to be office-based roles, and although is not yet clear where or when the cuts will be made, the company said they are initially targeting a positive cash flow by the end of March 2021.

Henrik Adam, CEO of Tata Steel in Europe, said: "Today we are highlighting important proposals towards building a financially strong and sustainable European business.

"We plan to change how we work together to enable better cooperation and faster decision-making. This will help us become self-sustaining and cash positive in the face of unprecedented severe market conditions, enabling us to lead the way towards a carbon-neutral future."

The programme, which will seek to increase sales of higher value steels by improving product mix and customer focus as well as seek to reduce procurement costs through smarter sourcing and strengthening cooperation with other companies in the Tata Steel group.

Stagnant EU steel demand and global overcapacity have been compounded by trade conflicts have turned the European market into a dumping ground for the world's excess steel capacity and the which the company say meaning the transformation is needed.

Tata Steel Europe have said it will engage with various stakeholders to develop the proposed decisions and ensure compliance with all European and national obligations.