Luxembourg-headquartered global steel producer ArcelorMittal’s France unit plans to cut around 600 jobs at its plants in France, according to the reports shared by the company with local news agencies.
ArcelorMittal France will cut down its work force at the plants located in the northern part of the country, namely, at the Dunkirk, Florange, Basse-Indre, Mardyck, Mouzon, Desvres, and Montataire plants. The seven factories employ around 7,100 people. “In the context of the crisis affecting the steel industry in Europe, the company must consider reorganization measures to adapt its activity to the new market context and ensure its future competitiveness,” stated the producer in a works council meeting on April 23.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, the producer had expressed its intention to move some of its support operations abroad, amid the weakening of the EU steel sector. On the other hand, in November last year the producer had announced that it would close down two French service centers. The latest figures shared by French steel unions, not contested by the ArcelorMittal France management, indicate that between 1,250 and 1,400 positions which are not directly linked to steel production will be transferred from western Europe to Poland or India.
ArcelorMittal France’s announcement has drawn heavy criticism from the industry, particularly from Stéphane Séjourné, vice president of the European Commission, who defined the announcement as “incomprehensible”. “The European steel plan presented on March 19 incorporates all of the requests that had been made by ArcelorMittal to maintain production sites,” Séjourné stated in a social media post.