Some 1,700 Of Romanian ArcelorMittal Galati Employees File Voluntary Layoff Requests – Unionist

ArcelorMittal Galati management refused to specify the number of employees that filed voluntary layoff requests and the number of requests to be approved, stating the company would analyze the situation.

Employees subject to voluntary layoffs will get compensatory payments.

ArcelorMittal Galati currently employs approximately 13,700 people, half compared with the fall of 2001, when the plant was privatized.

Due to the privatization clause banning layoffs for five years, the company offered financial compensations to employees willing to leave, in several stages.

In the latest voluntary layoff stage, at the end of 2007, 640 employees decided to leave.

In the fall of 2008, ArcelorMittal Galati closed several production units, due to the lower demand of steel products on the international market.

ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, announced early November it will cut its worldwide production by at least 30% in the last months of the year, due to the international financial crisis, which triggered a slump in demand.

The group owns four steel plants in Romania, in Galati, Iasi, Hunedoara and Roman, harbor operator Romportmet Galati and the local unit of construction company ArcelorMittal Construction.