Brazil steelmaker Votorantim is expected to temporarily lay off at least 140 workers at its Barra Mansa mill, following a halt in the mill’s operations last Friday morning that resulted from a negotiation with local union Sindicato dos Metalurgicos do Sul Fluminense (Sindmetal SF).
Sindmetal SF said hundreds of employees of the company’s first shift didn’t go to work on Friday, as the company fired 32 people on Thursday. The workers blocked the entrance of other employees in the company’s Barra Mansa mill last Friday morning and asked for a deal on 140 job positions, which according to the local union, could be lost.
According to the local union, 140 workers were about to be fired, but after a negotiation with Sindmetal SF, Votorantim decided the employees should be temporarily laid off for a period of at least five months, and should then return to work.
While remaining in the provisional layoff program, workers should continue receiving their wages and other labor benefits for up to five months.
Votorantim’s steel output at the Barra Mansa mill reached 95,000 mt/month in the past two months, according to media reports.