On Tuesday, Slovak Premier Robert Fico told the media that US Steel will not sell its steel mill in the region in exchange for environmental and energy-related concessions from the government. US Steel will receive about $19 million annually for 15 years in renewable energy subsidies from the Slovakian government. If, for any reason, US steel does sell the plant in the next five years, the steelmaker will pay the government anywhere from $60 million to $15 million, depending on whether the sale occurs either the first or fifth year after the agreement.
In exchange for the government assistance, US Steel agreed not to make major layoffs at the Kosice mill at least through the next year, barring a severe economic downturn. The facility currently has 13,000 employees and an annual steelmaking capacity of 5 million tons of sheet steel.