Voestalpine will cut back on 150 jobs in its tubulars segment at the plant in Kindberg, Austria as a reduction measure caused mainly by the US import restrictions, company executives have said during its earnings conference call.
According to ceo Herbert Eibensteiner, the sales of seamless tubes have suffered from the US import duties, where the unit sells 15% of its production. Diversion to energy customers in the Middle East is not an option with war in Iran, Eibensteiner said. “We are aware of our social responsibility, and we are working on a redundancy plan with the works council until the end of November,” he added.
Not only are company’s exports from Europe to the US suffering, but also its operations in the US.
“There is a shortage of steel in the USA, so steel prices are skyrocketing, which affects our processing operations there,” cfo Gerald Mayer told Kallanish.
He noted that duties similar to the US were considered by Canada, but eventually dropped, “although the circumstances are the same as with the USA,” Mayer added.
At home in Austria, voestalpine is struggling with the Danube’s continued low water levels and continues to transfer transport to rail. Of 17 million tonnes/year of materials shipped to and from the plant in Linz, 10% come and go via the river. “That share used to be twice as much, so we have already achieved good progress in this regard,” Mayer noted.
Executives on the call also noted that its greentec project to transition to hydrogen-based direct reduced iron production is proceeding within the projected time frame and costs.
This comes as German producer thyssenkrupp Steel revealed the ramp-up for its own DRI plant will occur later than originally planned.
