steel industry
The steel factory in Taranto has a turbulent history, as it came under government control in 2015. — © getty images
The Acciaierie d’Italia steel factory in Taranto in southern Italy would be placed under state supervision. ArcelorMittal, which owns more than half of the factory’s shares, reacts angrily.
The factory, with more than 8,000 employees, is burdened by heavy debts and can no longer pay many of its suppliers. The energy bills have also become too much for the company. But because ArcelorMittal would refuse to pump additional money into the company, the Italian government agency Invitalia, which has a minority stake, asked the Italian Ministry of Economy on Sunday evening to activate the state supervision procedure.
ArcelorMittal is angry because the issue was not discussed in the board of directors. “It is a blatant violation of the agreement we signed with Rome,” the steel giant said.
The steel mill unions will meet in Rome on Monday evening. There, the government of Giorgia Meloni will reveal what it plans to do with the factory. The intention would be to continue the activity and save thousands of jobs. Under the state supervision procedure, government commissioners are appointed to manage the company and draw up a rescue plan pending a new investor. According to Italian media, the Ukrainian Metinvest would be interested since it lost control of its steel plant in Mariupol (Azovstal) in May 2022. The Italian Arvedi and the Indian Vulcan Green Steel have also previously shown interest in the factory.
The steel factory in Taranto has a turbulent history, as it came under government control in 2015. In 2018, a majority stake was sold to ArcelorMittal. The factory also has a bad reputation for environmental pollution. In 2021, two former owners were sentenced to more than twenty years in prison for the toxic emissions that cost lives.
At the time, ArcelorMittal promised the remediation of the site and an expansion of production to 8 million tons per year by 2025. But in fact production fell to less than 3 tons in 2023, due to high energy prices. (blg)
2024-02-19 19:20:38
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