After the announcement of further layoffs at Stahl Gerlafingen, Unia launched a petition for the continuation of the steelworks together with the employees’ committee, the works council and other employee organizations. We demand political measures to save the recycling company and preserve jobs.
Stahl Gerlafingen is one of the last two steelworks in Switzerland and the largest recycling company in the country. Around 500 employees produce recycled steel from scrap metal, thus making an important contribution to integrating the circular economy into construction.
Steel production in Gerlafingen emits five times less CO2 per tonne than traditional production in a blast furnace. Delivery distances, already short in Switzerland, are largely covered by train.
There is still great potential to further decarbonize production. The factory is therefore of strategic importance for the necessary ecological transformation of the Swiss economy.
We must prevent the closure
In view of the difficult situation of the company and the second collective dismissal of the year, the very existence of Stahl Gerlafingen is in question. Politicians must act urgently to sustainably secure the hundreds of jobs and recycled steel production in Gerlafingen.
A petition to politicians and owners
The petition “Stahl Gerlafingen must be maintained!”, launched today, asks both politicians and the Italian Beltrame group, owner of Stahl Gerlafingen, to take measures to maintain activity and jobs:
- to policies: Binding guidelines are needed for the use of low-emission recycled steel in public procurement and throughout the construction sector. This will open up new opportunities for local suppliers of recycled steel. The implementation of corresponding legal bases cannot wait.
- to the Beltrame group: we must abandon layoffs and use partial unemployment to continue to employ employees.
