Tata did not describe UK managers as ‘lazy', The Times clarifies

Mr Ratan Tata did not describe British managers as ‘lazy', The Times of London has acknowledged.

In a statement published on page 2 of Wednesday's paper, The Times said that it was ‘happy to clarify' that the head of the Tata Group had not used that word to describe managers at Jaguar Land Rover and Corus (the former name of Tata Steel's UK operations) in a controversial interview published by the paper on May 21.

“His comments related to his view of the environment which existed when the Tata Group bought JLR and Corus and UK managers generally, and were not about his current management and staff,” said the statement by the British paper. “We apologise to Mr Tata and his staff for any distress caused,” it continued.

Mr Tata declined to comment on the clarification by The Times on Wednesday. The May 21 article provoked an angry response from the Tata Group, “ The Times article fundamentally misrepresents the interview”, it said at the time. The group took issue with two aspects of the story the description of managers as ‘lazy' a word it said he never used - and the failure by the paper to make clear that the criticisms made during the interview were of the way things were when Tata first took over the two companies rather than being reflective of current management.

The Times article was published at a highly sensitive time for Tata here in the UK, coming just after Tata Steel's European operations had announced the loss of up to 1,500 jobs in two UK plants as it restructured its long products division. According to Mr Tata, the interview took place two months previously.

Mr Tata sits on the Business Advisory Group, a group of 19 business leaders including the heads of HSBC, GlaxoSmithKline, and Google, set up by the British Prime Minister, Mr David Cameron, last year. Downing Street, along with other government departments, have declined to comment on The Times interview.

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