Cutting 6000 jobs in ArcelorMittal in Europe is totally unacceptable
Yesterday’s announcement from ArcelorMittal in an extraordinary meeting of the European works council that the company intends to cut 6000 jobs, as part of a broader cost reduction plan, is totally unacceptable to the EMF.
ArcelorMittal is not a company in crisis. For the first 9 months of 2008 alone, profits of €8 billion demonstrate the health of the world’s largest steel producer. Reduced production in recent months has largely been the result of a company decision to maintain falling prices for steel products not as a result of shrinking markets.
In a period of high uncertainty for European manufacturing workers, the EMF wholly rejects the use of the current economic crisis to put in place far-reaching restructuring plans without justification.
For the EMF, ArcelorMittal should not be further fuelling insecurity and promoting lower purchasing power in the context of falling consumer confidence, whilst trade unions and politicians attempt to find solutions to avoid long-term economic depression.
We call on the company to fully shoulder its full responsibility towards its workforce whom have delivered vast wealth for the ArcelorMittal group in recent years. ArcelorMittal must fully inform and consult employee representatives. The EMF wholly rejects unilateral management decisions of this nature.
The EMF will shortly convene a trade union coordination meeting on ArcelorMittal to ensure a coordinated response to this announcement.
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PRESS 36/2008
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The EMF is the representative body defending the interests of workers in the European metal industry. The EMF has a mandate for the external representation and coordination of the metalworkers' unions and a mandate to engage in bargaining at European level.
For further information please contact:
Editor, Peter Scherrer, EMF General Secretary
Judith Kirton-Darling, Policy Advisor +32.2.227 1052
