The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) has condemned ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) for shutting down its long steel operations in Newcastle and Vereeniging, while also putting the future of Vanderbijlpark at risk. The union warned that the closures will devastate workers and communities, accelerating the collapse of South Africa’s steel and manufacturing base.
Vanderbijlpark alone has lost 10,000 jobs since 1990. The latest closures will directly eliminate 4,000 jobs, with tens of thousands more threatened in downstream industries such as automotive and construction.
Subsidies failed to prevent shutdowns
Despite receiving ZAR 3.4 billion ($194.6 million) in public funds over the past 18 months, including Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) loans, wage support and special electricity tariffs, AMSA is closing plants.
IDC support: ZAR 1 billion in June 2024, ZAR 380 million ($21.74 million) in early 2025, and ZAR 1.68 billion ($96.16 million) in March 2025
Unemployment Insurance Fund/Temporary Employee Relief Scheme wage support: ZAR 417 million ($23.88 million)
Discounted tariff granted by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) despite domestic electric company Eskom’s rejection
SAFTU accused AMSA of “corporate plunder”, arguing that subsidies benefited executives and foreign shareholders instead of saving jobs. AMSA CEO Kobus Verster, reportedly earning over ZAR 20 million ($1.14 million) annually, was criticized for prioritizing profits.
National and industrial consequences
The closures threaten to erase South Africa’s last integrated carbon steel capacity, leaving the country dependent on imports and vulnerable to global market manipulation.
The Newcastle closure could put 60,000-80,000 downstream jobs at risk.
Automotive supply chains could shed 13,000 jobs.
Manufacturing’s share of gross domestic product (GDP) has already dropped from 20 percent in 1994 to 11-13 percent today, with 430,000 factory jobs lost since 2008.
Global trade pressures
South Africa also faces global steel overcapacity, dumping from China, and Trump’s 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum that redirected supply into weaker markets. SAFTU criticized the Ramaphosa government for failing to build a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates)-wide defense strategy.
SAFTU’s demands
The federation has declared the closures a national emergency and demands:
- Renationalization of AMSA under worker-state co-ownership.
- Export taxes and beneficiation mandates on chrome, iron ore, and other minerals.
- Strict antidumping tariffs.
- A public investment-led national reindustrialization plan for steel, rail, ports, and energy.
- A jobs rescue package for Newcastle, Vereeniging, and Vanderbijlpark.
- Redirecting ZAR 248 billion ($14.2 billion) in Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) funds to protect industrial jobs.
SAFTU said that the fight is not just about steel but about sovereignty, jobs and South Africa’s industrial future.