Authorities speed up Dudelange sale
Multiple companies have expressed interest in Liberty Steel’s Dudelange facility, according to informed sources speaking to Kallanish.
The primary goal of the government and the receiver is to find a potential buyer. A source suggests the Luxembourg government estimates the Dudelange plant’s bankruptcy procedure will take approximately three months. The receiver, Olivier Wagner, will negotiate a potential price in collaboration with the presiding judge overseeing the case, with assistance from the government. The latter holds ownership of the land and is expected to grant new concession rights to the prospective owner.
According to rumours, Italian service centre Eusider has shown interest in acquiring Dudelange, alongside other prospective buyers. Eusider and Liberty declined to comment.
Last month, the OGBL and LCGB unions urged the Luxembourg government and the European Commission to take immediate action aimed at securing the long-term viability of the site.
Since Liberty Steel did not fit the requirements set by the Luxembourg state to be eligible for temporary layoffs, the government has not supported Dudelange until now. As a result, Liberty Steel took on the responsibility of covering all wages and costs. In October and November, the group did not fulfil its obligation to pay salaries to its workforce.
Last week, the Luxembourg commerce tribunal declared the Dudelange facility bankrupt. The plant has experienced a period of inactivity spanning approximately two years. A union source indicates that the 147 workers at Dudelange had been anticipating the tribunal’s decision.
Another union source indicates the state will now assume responsibility for salaries. In addition to Dudelange and its Belgium-based Liege plant, Liberty plans to divest its Magona facility in Italy. The businesses combined possess rolling capacity exceeding 2.5 million tonnes/year.
Natalia Capra France
Liberty Steel officially bankrupt in Dudelange
The bankruptcy of Liberty Steel’s Dudelange site was declared by the Luxembourg Commercial Court. 147 jobs are at stake.
Neither the local management nor the company’s lawyers were present at the Luxembourg Commercial Court at 9am on Friday 29 November. However, Liberty Liège-Dudelange and its Luxembourg site were declared bankrupt after the management admitted that it was in suspension of payments. Olivier Wagner was appointed receiver in front of a few journalists and the LCGB union’s deputy general secretary, Robert Fornieri, who had made the trip.
“The most urgent matter is the employees, who are entitled to their back pay for October and November,” commented Wagner as he left the court. “They will be entitled to their severance pay under the Labour Code, which corresponds to the month of the bankruptcy, the subsequent month, i.e., December, and half the notice period to which they would have been entitled in the event of conventional dismissal.”
A recovery to avoid the real state of bankruptcy
“Everything will be checked by me under the supervision of the supervisory judge, the files will then be sent to the employment administration. We must wait for the date of verification of the claims, which is set in the judgment for January 17, for it to be ratified and sent to Adem,” continued the new receiver. But since employees cannot wait several weeks without pay, the unions will try to find an accelerated procedure to release certain amounts.
“Contacts have already been made with the ministries. For us, the most important thing is the situation of the 147 employees and their salaries, there is still a long time to go before a single euro arrives in the employees’ bank accounts. The ministry of labour must help us, as it promised us this week”, said Fornieri.
“We will have to react very quickly and quickly get in touch with the receiver. We could perhaps be heading towards an unfinished bankruptcy if buyers act in the meantime to transfer the employment contracts to new ones. Because if we really enter a state of bankruptcy, employment contracts and activity cease, and this is a danger for the installation, especially in winter. This would make any possible recovery difficult,” added the deputy general secretary of the LCGB.
Written by Ioanna Schimizzi
Source: paperjam.lu
