Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corporation plans to put its employees on temporary leave due to a sharp decline in steel demand especially for automobiles and other products amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, according to media reports.
Nippon Steel and its local labor union which represents 30,000 employees continue to hold negotiations to give employees one-day leave twice a month.
If the agreement is concluded, the company will put the plan into action this month and intends to pay leave allowances using the government's employment adjustment subsidy program.
The company had decided to halt its steelworks in Kure and some blast furnaces in February due to global economic slowdown which the trade war between US and China caused.