The world’s second largest steel producer, the Franco-Indian group ArcelorMittal (headquartered in Luxembourg) employs 15,350 people in France, particularly in the steelworks of Dunkirk (Nord) and Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône). The CGT union denounces a “drift in the industrial and social policy of the ArcelorMittal group” and is concerned about a gradual disinvestment of the group in France, not hesitating to invoke the spectre of the painful closure of the blast furnaces of Florange (Moselle) in 2012.
Waiting for investment decisions
«ArcelorMittal is pursuing a short-term financial strategy, with a lack of investment in companies that leads to deteriorating working conditions and production tools“, criticizes Philippe Verbeke, CGT representative in Dunkirk. The day of action must also allow “put pressure on management to come out of the woodwork and tell us clearly what is planned for decarbonisation“, underlines the union representative, coordinator of the steel industry of the CGT, who expects firm investments from the group in France and is concerned about a risk of reductions in production capacity and a reduction in jobs.
ArcelorMittal, which aims to reduce its emissions by 35% in Europe by 2030, has presented an ambitious transition plan for France. It provides for the creation of a hydrogen-compatible direct reduction iron ore (DRI) unit, as well as two electric arc furnaces (which melt pre-reduced iron ore and recycle scrap metal) in Dunkirk; and an electric arc furnace in Fos-sur-Mer. Since then, despite a green light from Brussels for an €850 million subsidy for the Dunkirk project (half the amount needed), no final investment decision has been taken.
The group is refining its roadmaps in order to “derisk” and make them profitable in the long term, explained in March the vice-president of climate action at ArcelorMittal Europe, Eric Niedziela to L’Usine Nouvelle, pointing out the very high prices of low-carbon hydrogen and the uncertainties about the availability of electricity and machines to produce it in sufficient quantities.
Fears of a drop in production
«We do not want to die in silence: we see nothing coming in terms of transformation and decarbonized steel and we fear the worst“, warns Sandy Poletto, CGT union secretary at ArcelorMittal Fos. To boost the use of scrap metal, ArcelorMittal has nevertheless launched the construction of a new ladle furnace on the site. Insufficient, judges the unionist, while the steelmaker also officially announced at the beginning of the summer that its integrated steelworks in the south will now operate with a single blast furnace instead of two. Which was already the case in fact.
The plant, positioned on the Mediterranean market, faces “a less buoyant market than continental Europe, with very tough competition from Maghreb countries“, acknowledges the unionist, worried because the group must announce at the end of September a moderate reduction in the workforce of the factory, which employs 2400 people and employs many subcontractors. The Force Ouvrière union, the majority in Fos, is not participating in the day of action called by the CGT. While it acknowledges sharing a “worry“, he prefers to wait for the presentation of the management’s plans before any potential action.
In Dunkirk, it is also time to wait. The smallest of the steelworks’ three blast furnaces was permanently shut down over a year ago and the site was affected by the fire of another blast furnace in 2023, recalls Philippe Verbeke. Here again, ArcelorMittal is increasing its scrap metal recycling capacity and is finishing the construction of an electric steel line for the electric motor market in Mardyck. But the CGT representative denounces “reliability issues, which prevent expected production levels from being reached“, and notes that a project to renovate one of the two blast furnaces still in operation remains on the drawing board.We are worried about the future“, he sums up.
Difficult times for European steel industry
«Concern is affecting the entire steel industry: we are emerging from the consecutive receiverships of Valdunes and Ascométal and the headlong rush of the sector continues“, recalls the CGT coordinator for the sector, who also mentions a plan to cut jobs at Apéram, the stainless steel subsidiary of ArcelorMittal.
Beyond individual cases, “The situation for the European steel industry is gloomy“, recalls Bruno Jacquemin, general director of A3M, which represents industrialists in the sector.Its key customers are the automotive industry and construction, which are not very buoyant markets at the moment. At the same time, there are worrying signals of Chinese overcapacity in steel and ferroalloys, which are penetrating the European market strongly and at low cost.».
A situation to which is added the necessary transition away from blast furnaces and their gargantuan consumption of coal. In the vicinity of France, the crisis in which the German giant Thyssenkrupp is sinking (which is struggling to sell its steel division and its giant plant in Duisburg, which is having difficulty transitioning to green steel), and the rapid closure of the two Tata-Steel blast furnaces in England (leading to the loss of 2,800 jobs despite the construction of an electric arc furnace for which the Indian group obtained a 500 million pound subsidy on September 11) are being followed by the unions with concern.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
