Liberty plans to restructure Belgian steel mills

The Liberty Steel Group is planning a possible restructuring of its Belgian steel mills, Flemalle and Tilleur, owned by Liberty Liège, to ensure their sustainable long-term future, a spokesman for the group said on September 23.

According to local media reports, this is expected to entail the indefinite shutdown of one of the two Flemallé steel galvanizing lines and the dismissal of 153 employees who are in negotiations with the trade unions.

A Liberty spokesman did not confirm details. The CSC-Metal union involved in the negotiations declined to comment when contacted by representatives of S&P Global Platts.

A statement from Liberty sent to Platts said: “On Monday morning, LIBERTY Liège-Dudelange's management briefed the Liberty Liège works council, which includes two plants in Flemale and Tiller, on key aspects of a possible future organizational structure. This potential The new structure has been identified as providing the best long-term future for the company, which increases the likelihood of generating potential investment to support that future. The proposed restructuring project has no impact on LIBERTY Dudelange's production facilities in Luxembourg and LIBERTY Liège - Dudelange customers will continue to receive supplies as usual throughout the entire process. "

Sources close to Liberty noted that the owner of the GFG Alliance group has provided Liberty Liège with more than 40 million euros ($ 47 million) in funding since its acquisition from steel company ArcelorMittal in July 2019, but its investment plans were initially undermined by for a very weak steel market in 2019. before the pandemic had a negative impact on business.

The situation in Liege was exacerbated by the collapse of Greensill Capital, the main financier of the GFG Alliance in March, and significant problems with its main supplier of hot rolled coils, which affected the ability of the mills to operate at full capacity, even when allowed by the COVID-19 restrictions. according to sources.