03har schreef op 19 oktober 2024 17:58:
quote alias=03har id=15099669 date=202311281050]
3 500 jobs at risk as ArcelorMittal mulls closure of longs units at Newcastle, Vereeniging
The Newcastle WorksPhoto by Creamer Media
28th November 2023
By: Terence Creamer
Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has indicated that it may close its long-products business, which could result in the loss of 3 500 direct and contractor jobs at its Newcastle and Vereeniging operations.
In a statement, the JSE-listed company said the potential wind down had been precipitated by structural issues outside of its control, including:
* A 20% fall in demand over the last seven years to four-million tonnes, on the back of persistently low economic growth, limited infrastructure spend and project delays;
* Rising transport and logistics costs, compounded by rail-service disruptions, as well as escalating energy prices; and
* The prevailing scrap advantage over iron-ore, precipitated by the preferential pricing system for scrap, a 20% export duty, and the recently imposed ban on scrap exports, which had given electric arc furnaces an “artificial” competitive advantage over integrated mills beneficiating iron-ore.
CEO Kobus Verster said the board and management decision to consider a wind down of the long-products business was reached after “all possible options” were exhausted, had not been “taken lightly” and was being pursued in an effort to place the rest of the business on a “sustainable financial footing”.
The company also acknowledged the potential negative impact on the regional and local economies in which the mills were located, in particular the Newcastle Works, which was a major source of economic activity and jobs in the KwaZulu-Natal town.
[/quote]
Dit plaatste ik eind november, daarna kwamen er in 2024 afwisselende berichten over sluiten en wederom weer open.
AMSA is een ietwat vreemde eigenaren constructie, deels eigendom van overheid/ burgers zuid Afrika.
Overheid is daarom ook bereid tot ‘ondersteuning’ hulp bij schrot ‘belasting’ zou helpen.
Nu ligt dacht ik alles ‘idle’ wachtend op betere tijden. Vooral op betere energie prijzen
03haR