Six month hold on Mittal job losses, plant closures
At least 220 permanent jobs could have been lost in the Vaal alone with an undisclosed number of affected contractors should the cuts have proceeded.
A job and plant closure Armageddon at steel giant ArcelorMittal SA has been averted for up to six months after whirl-wind shuttle engagement by the company countrywide and internationally resulted in commitment to action with Government on a host of business-killing factors.
The reprieve for previously-announced 3500 potential job losses and the closure of Amsa’s long steel business in Vereeniging and Newcastle was announced at a presentation of the company’s year-end financial results ending on 31 December 2023 on Thursday this week.
The move was welcomed by organised business in the Vaal, with both the Vaal Business Cooperation (VBC) and Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC) expressing appreciation to Amsa for fighting fiercely for jobs and its long steel business.
Central to the steps announced by AMSA are improving Transnet’s rail and port facilities, whose present chaotic state exert a crippling stranglehold on economic activity and exports in SA, including the crucial steel industry.
Amsa reported a headline loss of R1,89 billion for 2023, compared to a R2,67 billion profit in 2022 this week.
It said since making the announcement last year on possible job losses and closure of its long steel product plants in both the Vaal and KZN, the company had embarked on an intensive period of consultation with stakeholders – including Government and Transnet – and with its customers.
CEO Kobus Verster emphasised that Amsa did not seek preferential treatment from Government but did expect it to create a level playing field for business operations and development and by addressing the structural constraints affecting the steel industry.
The short-term initiatives Verster said Amsa was progressing – and which allowed the job and plant reprieves – with stakeholders such as Government were:
- Port and rail service efficiency improvements
- Not extending the scrap metal export ban which had lapsed at the end of December 2023
- Enforcing comparatively low trade protection measures and acting against contravening companies
- Agreement with key customers on longer-term orders and volume commitment
- Expediting demand-side opportunities to improve capacity utilisation in the absence of economic growth and to replace imports with exports
- Working with key suppliers, service providers, and organised labour to reduce the cost structure of the Amsa Long Steel business
