Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI)’s special commissioners have asked the government to increase until February the number of workers falling under temporary layoffs from 4,450 currently to 8,622, almost the entire workforce of the company, union sources confirm to Kallanish.
The move, which follows the start of the shutdown of Taranto’s hot end, has sparked a strong reaction from workers, with strikes and protests occurring in Taranto and at the Genoa plant in northern Italy. ADI employs around 10,000 workers directly.
Meanwhile, Italy’s Supreme Court held a hearing on 20 October on the appeal submitted by ADI’s special commissioners against the Milan Court of Appeal ruling. That ruling ordered ADI to shut down the hot end at Taranto by 28 October. The Supreme Court reserved judgement and will rule at a later date.
Blast furnace no.2, the only one still running at Taranto, stopped producing pig iron in early October after ADI ran out of raw materials, union sources say. It is now in preheating mode, kept at minimum temperature without production. Blast furnaces no.1 and no.4 are already out of service.
Under the government decree approved on 13 October, the hot-end plants can be kept warm until the Supreme Court publishes the reasoning for its ruling, and no later than 15 December. This avoids an irreversible shutdown.
ADI’s special commissioners are looking for ways to keep material flowing to the company’s downstream plants in Genoa and Novi Ligure, and of filling the rolling schedule at Taranto.
After several days of strikes and protests, the commissioners met unions and signed a document on 14 October committing to a supply plan. Under the plan, the Genoa, Taranto and Novi Ligure plants will continue rolling and processing activity. The Genoa Cornigliano plant is set to receive 35,000 tonnes of coils monthly to be processed on behalf of third parties who will guarantee the supply. Of this, 25,000 t/month will go to the galvanizing and pickling lines and 10,000t to the tinplate line (see Kallanish passim).
