The Czech unit of ArcelorMittal Friday said it will seek to cut 10% of its more than 6,000-strong workforce, through voluntary buyouts from employment contracts, to pare costs amid demand declines for steel products in Europe.

"We expect that as many as 600 employees will accept the offer," said Vera Breiova, the spokeswoman for ArcelorMittal Ostrava, the steel maker's plant in the north-eastern Czech city of Ostrava.

For now ArcelorMittal Ostrava has no plans to shut down its blast furnaces as long as it continues to receive sufficient orders, the company said.

"ArcelorMittal Ostrava has to improve its productivity significantly to remain competitive even during current tough times," Tapas Rajderkar, the company's general director, said in a statement, adding that only the most efficient steel makers can survive as the industry copes with excess capacity in Europe.

Earlier this year, other steel makers, including units of ArcelorMittal based in Western Europe, shut down plants to cut costs.

ArcelorMittal Ostrava will begin to offer contract buyouts, centered on severance packages of between 11 and 24 monthly wages, to its workers from Dec. 12 through Jan. 20. "We expect the planned number of employment contracts to end as of Jan. 31," Breiova said in a telephone interview.

ArcelorMittal Ostrava produces 3.6 million metric tons of steel products, exporting about half of its output. The average monthly wage at the plant was 30,816 koruna ($1,643) in 2010.

-By Leos Rousek, Dow Jones Newswires; +420 222 315 290; leos.rousek@dowjones.com

Go to http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope for the new WSJ and Dow Jones blog on Central and Eastern Europe, covering business, politics, society and more, written by our correspondents across the region.

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