Steel maker ArcelorMittal has started a new voluntary redundancy scheme for its employees in the structural and skill pool department of its Galati plant, hoping to keep the production unit competitive. Apart from the announced voluntary redundancies, ArcelorMittal will also move employees around between departments and cancel third party contracts, while redistributing the work at the Galati unit internally.

The steel plant in Galati has lost some 19,000 workers in the last 11 years, following privatization. All of them chose to be part of the voluntary redundancy scheme and receive compensation payments from ArcelorMittal. The plant now has 9,000 employees.

Sidex Galaţi was privatized in 2001, bought for some USD 70 million by LNM Holdings NV, which became ArcelorMittal. The privatization was not without controversy. Before privatization, the complex was making a USD 1 million loss a day, but two years after privatization, without major investments, it started making a profit.

The state required investments of USD 350 million and banned layoffs in the first five years after takeover.

After the crisis hit, ArcelorMittal Galaţi started making a loss but continued to invest. Some EUR 80 million were poured into revamping a furnace.

ArcelotMittal is a steel and mining company with 260,000 employees in 60 countries. The company is listed on several stock exchanges around the world.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: ArcelorMittal)