ArcelorMittal South Africa decides not to close its steel plants

Cobus Verster, CEO of ArcelorMittal South Africa, said that the postponement of the closure of long product production facilities will directly affect 3.5 thousand workers. The company had postponed its closure plan by six months in January this year and aimed to avoid layoffs by co-operating with the government and unions.

The Board of Directors and management announced that they will work on various long-term strategies to secure the future of the Long Products Division.

In November last year, it was announced that some of ArcelorMittal's steelmaking units in South Africa, including Newcastle Works and Vereeniging Works, would be closed. The company had drawn attention to low demand and infrastructure challenges in the South African economy and criticised policies that encouraged the use of scrap.

Finally, ArcelorMittal South Africa has made improvements in power generation, port and rail efficiency, and the lifting of the ban on scrap exports has improved fairness and equity in production costs.