The world's number one steelmaker ArcelorMittal has announced that it will be meeting with its European Works Council to present "voluntary separation programs" to be launched across the group.
According to ArcelorMittal, the programs are aimed at reducing SG&A (Selling, General and Administrative) expenditure by US$1 billion in response to the current economic situation, while the focus is primarily on non-production employees, in particular those in SG&A functions across the globe.
9,000 employees may be engaged in these programs - equal to around three percent of the total global work force of ArcelorMittal.
Commenting on the program, Bernard Fontana, Executive Vice President and Member of ArcelorMittal's Management Committee with responsibility for Human Resources, stated: "This has been a very difficult decision for the company to take as all of our employees are extremely important to us. Sadly, however, the global economic reality means that it is only sensible to adopt such measures." The company also stated they would be grateful for the professionalism and dedication of its employees, all of whom have played an important role in building ArcelorMittal.