The European Commission has announced that it has proposed to provide
Romania with €3.6 million from the European Globalization Adjustment Fund (EGF) to help 1,000 former workers of the steel products manufacturer SC Mechel Campia Turzii SA and the downstream producer SC Mechel Reparatii Targoviste SRL to find new jobs. The total estimated cost of the package is €7.14 million, of which the EGF would provide half. The proposal is subject to approval by the European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers.
"The manufacture of finished and semi-finished steel products in the EU has been seriously disrupted due to intensified competition from countries outside the EU, particularly China. Today's proposal would help to prepare some 1,000 former steelworkers from the Cluj region in
Romania for new job opportunities or to set up their own businesses," said the EU Commissioner László Andor.
According to the European Commission, both affected companies belonged to Mechel, a Russian
steelmaking group. At the end of 2011, Mechel's operations in
Romania started to experience financial difficulties due to losses incurred because of unfavorable prices in European steel markets, linked to rising ferrous scrap prices and weak demand for finished products. Mechel Campia Turzii put in place a number of measures to reduce staff costs. However, these measures did not remedy the financial difficulties of the enterprise, which decided to initiate collective redundancies.