On November 30, the French government said that it has secured promises from the global steel giant ArcelorMittal to invest €180 million to expand its Florange plant in Lorraine near the German border and to avoid any forced layoffs at the site where the company has idled two blast furnaces. French president Francois Hollande has backed away from a threat to nationalize the steelworks.
French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the two furnaces in Florange would not be restarted for now as the European steel sector struggles to cope with overcapacity. However, ArcelorMittal would keep them in working order, for future use. Ayrault said the investment would reinforce cold steel and packaging operations at Florange and secure jobs in those areas.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, last week French president Francois Hollande met Lakshmi Mittal, ArcelorMittal CEO, and stated that nationalization of the Florange site was an option.
Meanwhile, workers at the Florange site are angry the furnaces will remain idle rather than be reopened and have expressed doubts over ArcelorMittal's promise to offer alternative posts or early retirement packages for the 630 workers affected.