About 1,000 ArcelorMittal Galati Workers Leave Through Voluntary Layoff Progr

The voluntary layoffs program started January 1 and will end March 31.

ArcelorMittal Galati currently employs approximately 12,500 people, half compared with the fall of 2001, when the plant was privatized. Due to a privatization clause banning layoffs for five years, the company offered financial compensation to employees willing to leave.

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

ArcelorMittal (MT), the world’s largest steelmaker, announced early November it will cut 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.