The former Ilva plant in Taranto, Italy, can resume selling steel. The prefect of Taranto Demetrio Martino has in fact decided not to extend his decree of March 26, which had imposed on ArcelorMittal Italia the suspension of production for commercial purposes amid the coronavirus emergency. This is what ArcelorMittal Italia's CEO Lucia Morselli had pushed for last week, threatening the idling of the blast furnace area of the plant.
In any case, for safety reasons there may not be more than 3,500 employees working, divided into three shifts. The prefect explained, "The monitoring and control of the conditions of employment of the staff remain in force, with... the constant and full application of the measures to prevent health risks."
Taranto mayor Rinaldo Melucci, however, said the change of mind by the prefecture is a cause for concern. "The profit motive has prevailed," he said, asking for an urgent intervention by the governor of the Puglia Region, Michele Emiliano, to protect workers and citizens. Meanwhile, some local unions said they do not care whether the company sells or not, but stressed that the most important thing is that ArcelorMittal Italia reduces the numbers of the workers at the plant, to avoid gatherings of people.