ArcelorMittal slashes jobs at Polish mills

Over 1,000 employees at ArcelorMittal Poland steel mills will be laid off, after the company submitted an announcement to labor offices last week. Some 980 jobs will now be cut from its Dąbrowa Górnicza facility, in addition to a previously announced 200.

The cuts come as heavy industry reels from the effects of the global economic slowdown, which has seen a sharp decrease in demand for products like steel and concrete. Poland's Central Statistical office announced last Wednesday that new industrial orders dropped in October by 8.6 percent y/y.

ArcelorMittal Poland controls four plants in Poland: in Kraków, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Sosnowiec and Świętochłowice. It has already shut down its two large furnaces in Kraków and Dąbrowa Górnicza.

The company is preparing itself for even tougher times to come. Gregor Muenstermann, president of ArcelorMittal Poland, has said that more job cuts may be on the way.

"December is, as a rule, a very poor month, so we should be prepared for a further decrease in orders and further decisions as a result of this difficult situation," Puls Biznesu quoted him as saying.

Jerzy Goiński, a leader in the Solidarity labor union, told the paper that the cuts were a worrying sign, considering that production costs in Poland were the lowest in the entire ArcelorMittal group.

But Renata Dudała, a steel industry specialist from economic portal wnp.pl, struck an optimistic note.

"It's natural that the unions are a bit afraid. But the employees are protected with social and severance packages. Moreover, the planned reduction will be conducted mainly in the administrative department, not production," she told WBJ, adding, "Long-term predictions for the steel industry are advantageous. Steel consumption in Poland is expected to grow by four million tonnes by 2012."

ArcelorMittal recently announced temporary output cuts of 35 percent globally, up from a previously announced 15 percent.