Layoff plan approved for ArcelorMittal subsidiary in Spain

An application for temporary layoffs at ArcelorMittal's Spanish subsidiary due to force majeure following a fire at a copper smelter in Gijón in March was approved by Spanish labor authorities, the company said on April 19.

The details of the plan, which was proposed on March 24, were not disclosed by the company following a fire at one of the two furnaces at the facility with a capacity of 4.5 million tons per year.

According to ArcelorMittal, the plan has received support from major unions.

According to local press reports, citing company sources, the six-month layoff plan affects about 7,000 workers in the Asturias cluster and other locations such as Sagunto near Valencia, Echebarri in the Basque region and Lesaka in Navarre. Workers will keep 90% of their wages for the period and other benefits.

In Sagunto, ArcelorMittal manufactures cold rolled flats as well as galvanized sheet. Etxebarri specializes in chrome plated steel and Lesaka specializes in colored galvanized sheet.

Work to clean up the damaged site in Gijón continues, a spokesman for S&P Global Commodity Insights said on April 19, adding that it should be completed within a week and a half.

After that, the damage will be assessed and the company will estimate the cost and timing of the repair.

The initial unofficial forecast given in the local press was that the plant would be out of production for at least two months.

The fire broke out on March 27 when hot metal came into contact with water in a furnace crucible, forcing the hot metal out of the furnace wall and out of a nozzle that needed to be replaced, ArcelorMittal said.

Blast Furnace A was only restarted in February after four months of inactivity to operate at a reduced capacity in line with market conditions.

Furnace B at the 4.5 Mtpa facility continues to operate as normal.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, valued cold rolled steel at €820/t CIF Antwerp on April 19, unchanged during the day.

The Spanish government said on April 4 that it has approved ArcelorMittal's €450 million ($500 million) funding for a green steel project in Gijón that will use renewable energy-derived hydrogen to decarburize both steel production and process industries. .

The total investment is targeted at around €1 billion ($1.1 billion) and includes a 2.3 million tonnes per year hydrogen-powered direct reduction plant and a 1.1 million tonnes hybrid electric arc furnace to reduce emissions CO2 plant in Spain by 50% (4.8 million tons per year). million tons).

ArcelorMittal's other main steel plant, the 1mtpa EAF at Sestao, is currently operating intermittently, the company said without giving details. The figure is around 60%, according to El Espanol, with six working days and four days off, and renewables are attracting orders.