In crisis, the European steel industry is growing impatient with Brussels’ slowness

Published on November 26, 2024 at 7:59 p.m. / Modified on November 26, 2024 at 11:50 p.m.

In Europe and Switzerland, the steel crisis worsened this week and the authorities, according to the industry, are slow to react. ArcelorMittal, the world’s second largest producer of the alloy, announced on Monday the closure of two sites in France. In response, employees of the group’s French service centers went on strike yesterday to defend their jobs. A few days earlier, the Luxembourg group had published a profit divided by three in the third quarter and postponed the launch of carbon-free steel production in Dunkirk. The German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp, for its part, also announced on Monday a reduction of 11,000 jobs by 2030, a week after the publication of an annual loss of 1.5 billion euros.

In Switzerland, similar scenario. Stahl Gerlafingen, a subsidiary of the Italian group Beltrame, announced in October the dismissal of 120 employees, a measure which has since been frozen pending possible political support. In the spring, 60 positions had already been crossed out by the Solothurn company. On Friday, the Lucerne group Swiss Steel, with 10,000 employees worldwide, said it had to cut 800 positions in Switzerland and abroad. Of the 750 workplaces at its Emmenbrücke (LU) site, 130 will disappear.

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