The ax has finally fallen. Meeting since the beginning of the afternoon, Monday November 25, the CSE ofArcelorMittal Service Centers (AMCS) has confirmed the upcoming closure of the Reims (Marne) and Denain (North) sites. Until now considered “possible” by management, but not certain, the shutdown of these two production sites has been set for June 2025. “ However, for certain support productions, departures are planned from April », underlines the inter-union which brings together the CGT, the CFDT, FO and the CFE-CGC.
ArcelorMittal: spontaneous strike on two sites threatened with closure
“We proposed several solutions to protect jobs, but all were rejected by management. For example, we proposed to mothball production tools and jobs for a year, because we have good reasons to believe that activity will start to increase again from 2026,” comments Frédéric to La Tribune. Aubert, the central union delegate of the CFE-CGC of AMCS.
This decision will impact 136 jobs, namely 113 in Reims, 21 in Denain and one in Ottmarsheim. Among them, 19 reclassifications will be proposed for production operator positions on four sites in the ArcelorMittal sector. “ Reclassifications within the group will also be offered. To date, 20 offers have been listed », wishes to inform the inter-union in a press release. These figures will be refined at the next CSE meeting scheduled for December 4. Until then, the unions hope to maintain the Denain site, as it is profitable according to the unions.
Faced with the progress and conclusions of this meeting to begin discussions around this social plan, the unions decided to launch an indefinite strike as of Tuesday, November 26. Until now, only the Nordic site was involved in such an approach. From tomorrow, therefore, the 453 employees of ArcelorMittal Service Centers, spread across eight French sites, will be on strike.
30% contraction in activity
In the ranks of the unions, we do not deny that activity had fallen sharply in recent months, but they strongly believed in a significant restart in 2026.
“The market served by ArcelorMittal Service Centers (slit strips, sheets and steel blanks) has been marked for several years by a structural decline in the needs of our customers, particularly in the automobile and industry: since 2019, this market contracted by about 30%. In addition, we are witnessing a structural relocation of certain clients towards Central Europe, Turkey or North Africa. Finally, as for all European steel markets, low-priced extra-European imports unbalance competitive conditions,” the management of the ArcelorMittal subsidiary announced this evening on November 19.
But the maintenance of the APLD system (partial activity started in 2022) on the two sites in question, up to one day off per week, attested to a certain expectation. Unsurprisingly and as required by legislation, the triggering of a PSE procedure led to the stopping and removal of the APLD system internally since last Friday.
« Management's corporate vision is short-term profitability and nothing else », complains David Blaise, the central union delegate of the CGT, to La Tribune. “ Management places great emphasis on the decline in activity in the automobile industry to justify these closures. But the two sites concerned work very little for this sector. They work a lot for industry with clients like Schneider, Alstom and Bombardier. Ultimately, this decision will make it possible to save sites which depend a lot on the automobile sector by sacrificing sites which work very little for it. », added Frédéric Aubert.
Credit repayment is debated
The inter-union also indicates that several production tools will actually be transferred to sites very impacted by the difficulties of the automobile industry. Also, means of production will be sent to Belgium, Spain and Poland.
ArcelorMittal delays its decarbonization in the North
Finally, the unions point to the repayment in 2023 of a credit of 40 million euros granted to the ArcelorMittal group in order to avoid paying excessively high interest rates. « This line of credit could have been repaid in several installments and allowed us to have cash flow during this slow period. This is not the choice that management made. We regret it », testifies David Blaise of the CGT, who attended the CSE this Monday.
“ArcelorMittal Service Centers is now forced to reorganize itself, in order to safeguard its competitiveness and prevent greater difficulties for the whole of society (…) The planned site closures aim to increase the load and sustain the activities of our other production sites,” comments ArcelorMittal Service Centers.
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