A Milan court has rejected the request by the special commissioners for the former Ilva steelmaking company to extend the utilization of blast furnace No. 2 in Taranto by ArcelorMittal Italia, subsidiary of global steel giant ArcelorMittal. The blast furnace has been seized and unseized several times by court orders following a fatal accident in 2015. Friday, December 13, is the deadline for the blast furnace to meet certain conditions, but it is estimated that works to improve safety at the furnace will take a year and require a €10 million investment by the extraordinary administration of Ilva. The only possible route now left to the Ilva commissioners is to appeal to the court of review.
After this development, ArcelorMittal summoned local unions late on December 11 to announce that an extraordinary layoff procedure will be initiated for 3,500 workers, including workers employed at blast furnace No. 2.
Trade unions representing steel workers at Ilva staged a major protest in Rome on Tuesday, December 10, while the Italian government has continued talks to stop ArcelorMittal going back on an agreement to take over the former Ilva group.