Ukrainian mining and steelmaking group Metinvest is preparing to cease operations at its Metinvest Tubular Iași plant in Romania following disruptions to Ukrainian hot-rolled coil supplies, according to local media. The closure plans come less than a year after Metinvest acquired the welded pipe producer from ArcelorMittal.
Supply interruptions undermine operating model
According to a company notification submitted to local employment and labour authorities on October 30, Russian attacks in August 2026 interrupted the Ukrainian feedstock supplies on which the Romanian facility depended, affecting its production operations.
The company explored alternative European suppliers, but replacement material was approximately €110/mt more expensive than Ukrainian supplies, undermining the viability of continued operations under the existing business model.
Planned redundancies affect 194 employees
The collective redundancy procedure is expected to cover 194 of the company's 195 employees, excluding the general manager. Individual notices will follow consultations with trade unions, with notice periods of at least 20 working days, according to Ziarul de Iași.
Reported severance payments include RON 10,000 for employees with more than 10 years of service and RON 25,000 for those with more than 30 years. Most employees had already been sent home because of raw material shortages.
Closure threatens recently established production links
Metinvest completed the acquisition on December 16, 2025, establishing its first production site in Romania. The facility has maximum production capacity of 240,000 mt per year and manufactures welded structural pipes for construction, engineering, infrastructure and agriculture. Its equipment includes five pipe mills, two longitudinal cutting lines and two coating lines.
The investment was intended to strengthen cooperation between Metinvest's Ukrainian and European operations. In February 2026, the group announced that Zaporizhstal had shipped more than 22,000 mt of hot-rolled products to Iași since the beginning of the year, with annual deliveries planned at up to 180,000 mt.
The Romanian facility's principal markets included Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.
