ArcelorMittal Presents 2Q Partial Idling Project For Florange Plant
23 Febbraio 2012 - 3:08PM
Dow Jones News
Steel titan ArcelorMittal (MT) said Thursday it has presented to
French labor union representatives a proposal to extend into the
second quarter the temporary idling of part of its Florange steel
plant, as a result of continued weak European steel demand, but
said it will continue investing in its French sites.
ArcelorMittal last year shut down its two blast furnaces at
Florange in response to weak steel demand, but is still operating
other facilities at the plant including hot and cold rolling mills,
a coke plant, and coating lines.
The extension of the temporary idling affects 500 temporarily
unemployed staff, for whom interim training and redeployment
opportunities are being offered. Florange, which employs 2,800
workers, can produce up to 1.4 million metric tons of crude steel
annually.
The extension of the temporary idling "is fully justified by the
current European economic and industrial context," said Herve
Bourrier, chief executive of ArcelorMittal France.
"Europe is indeed in a recession and the economic and industrial
recovery will be slow while prospects of a return to the 2008 [high
demand] situation are more remote than originally anticipated,"
Bourrier said, adding that ArcelorMittal would continue to carry
out all measures to enable a restart if the market situation
permits.
Steel demand in Europe dropped 1.3% in 2011 and steel deliveries
at the moment are about 20% lower than they were before the
2008-2009 crisis, Bourrier said. Real European steel consumption is
forecast to fall 2% in 2012, marking a 16% decrease compared with
the first quarter 2008.
Bourrier said ArcelorMittal was acting in a responsible
manner.
"It cannot under any circumstances produce steel it will not be
able to sell," he said. "ArcelorMittal must adjust to an
increasingly fluctuating demand and to markets that have become
extremely volatile."
He said France remains a priority area for ArcelorMittal and
said that the company "will keep investing in its sites on a
regular basis."
-By Alex MacDonald, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9328;
alex.macdonald@dowjones.com
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