Italy's largest steel plant, Taranto-based Ilva, may be forced to halt production after a local court ruled at the weekend that the plant cannot continue steel production at the same time as it carries out court-ordered improvements to its production line in light of environmental and public health hazards it has caused.
The site has witnessed a fierce stand-off between those who want the plant closed and thousands of families that depend on it for jobs amid the current economic crisis.
The operators of the Ilva plant were ordered last week to clean up pollution that some blame for high local cancer rates.
Local judge Patrizia Todisco stated at the weekend that she "cannot foresee the use of the site for production purposes" while an investigation into a possible "environmental catastrophe" is being carried out.
In the meantime, Ilva plans to appeal the local judge's decision, as the initial clean-up order did not specify whether the factory would have to close while the clean-up work was being carried out.
In an interview with Italian newspaper la Stampa on Sunday, Ilva chairman Bruno Ferrante stated, "I do not even want to pronounce the word layoff, but if they block production here the outlook gets more complicated, not just for the almost 12,000 employees, but also for the whole supply chain."
"The closure and turning off of the plant must be avoided at all costs. It would cause irreparable damage. We will not spare our efforts," said Italy's Industry Minister Corrado Passera. Meanwhile, Italy's Environment Minister Corrado Clini commented "When we talk about suspending production, we must take responsibility for possibly boosting rival steelmakers in Europe and China. Italy will lose out whereas I see plenty of European competitors waiting in the wings, not to mention the Chinese, who would profit enormously."
Ilva produced 8.5 million metric tons in 2011, nearly 30 percent of Italy's total steel output. It is one of the few big industrial plants in southern Italy.