ArcelorMittal workers in France and Belgium said on Thursday that the company has told them it will stop steel output at some plants this winter as demand drops.
The Luxembourg-based steelmaker, the world’s largest, declined to confirm that it will temporarily halt output but said it was “taking prudent and responsible steps to adapt supply to demand in the light of present market conditions.”
It said it will provide details when it reports third-quarter earnings on November 5.
The company has already announced a 15-percent cut in European output as its main customers — the construction and the car industries — see sales slip.
Trade union representatives in France said management at the Fos-sur-Mer plant had told workers that it would reduce output and asked workers to take vacations of up to 16 days from November 1 and December 31. One furnace will cease work until the end of January, said Alain Nougue, a delegate from the CGT.
Another steel plant at Florange in eastern France would also stop output for the month of December, Jean-Marc Verin of the CFDT union said.
In Belgium, local press said workers had been told that ArcelorMittal plants at Genk and Chatelet would cease production for four weeks at the end of the year while facilities at Seraing and Ghent would decrease output levels.
