New Delhi: Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, on Tuesday expressed concern over the ongoing conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran, warning that a prolonged war in the Middle East could create wider global challenges.
However, he clarified that there has been no direct impact on India or the Tata Group so far.
Chandrasekaran was speaking to the media during his visit to Jamshedpur on the occasion of the 187th birth anniversary of Jamsetji Tata, founder of the Tata Group.
He paid tribute to the visionary industrialist at the main Founder’s Day event held at the Tata Steel premises and extended his greetings to the residents of the city.
Addressing concerns about the global situation, Chandrasekaran said that the Middle East region is an important source of raw materials such as limestone for the group.
“Given Tata’s widespread international operations, any prolonged conflict could potentially disrupt global supply chains, logistics, delivery schedules and sustainability efforts,” he stated.
Nevertheless, he stressed that the current situation has not had any direct effect on the group’s operations or on India.
He also highlighted that Tata Group employees are working across manufacturing, services, hospitality and other sectors worldwide.
“Ensuring the safety and well-being of employees and their families remains the company’s top priority, adding that the group is closely monitoring developments and taking necessary precautions,” he mentioned.
On employment, Chandrasekaran noted that new projects and expansion plans are steadily creating job opportunities.
Over the past five to six years, the group’s workforce has grown from around 7 lakh employees to approximately 11 lakh.
The company now aims to increase this number to 15 lakh over the next five to six years. He also said efforts are underway to raise the share of women employees to around 28–30 per cent.
Speaking about the IT sector and emerging technologies, he said concerns about job losses due to new technologies are natural.
(IANS)
