Following a meeting with unions, Italian Minister Stefano Patuanelli has revealed the first details of the government’s industrial plan for former steelmaker Ilva, now ArcelorMittal Italia.
A union representative tells Kallanish the plan is worth €1 billion ($1.1 billion) and will involve the ramp up of production from the 6 million tonnes/year suggested by ArcelorMittal to 8m t/y. This would imply no job cuts. Production will be implemented with two blast furnaces and a new electric arc furnace. Temporary lay-offs are envisaged during the works to add a new EAF.
Patuanelli says the government is still working on the details of the plan. Including the environmental relaunch of the Taranto site and the ramp-up of production, the industrial plan should be implemented within 4 to 5 years.
The Italian government previously rejected the industrial plan submitted by ArcelorMittal Italia. The steelmaker said it would cut almost 4,700 jobs during the next three years. The first cuts would be in 2020 while the remainder would be in 2023 when the company proposes to idle blast furnace No. 2 and launch an EAF at the Taranto site (see Kallanish passim).
