Global steel group ArcelorMittal announced that, starting December 1, it temporarily suspended production at its steel plant in Hunedoara, Romania, which is part of the ArcelorMittal Europe - Long Products division, Ziarul Financiar reported. 

The group said the decision was determined by the high electricity and natural gas prices. The factory has 640 employees and 200 contractors.

"The prices of electricity and natural gas have increased significantly for industrial users in Romania in recent years, being significantly higher than in other European countries with important operators in the steel production, such as France and Germany. As European steelmakers are struggling to compete due to high levels of imported steel and weak domestic demand, the Hunedoara plant - which operates with an electric arc furnace, with energy thus representing a major cost - is no longer capable to compete,” the company said in a press release.

ArcelorMittal hopes to find a solution that will address the problem of high electricity and natural gas prices and enable the Hunedoara plant to have a sustainable future.

ArcelorMittal purchased the plant in Hunedoara in 2003 and has since invested EUR 115 million for technical and environmental improvements.

The group also owns two steel pipe factories in Iasi and Roman, in North-Eastern Romania.

In 2018, the group sold its biggest local asset, the Galati steel plant, to British group Liberty House.

(Photo: Pixabay)

editor@romania-insider.com