Global steelmaker ArcelorMittal is planning to reopen its blast
furnace later this month at one of its French site which was closed for several
months.
The second blast furnace at ArcelorMittal's site at
Dunkerque, was closed since August and would resume operations by January 20, said a representative of the CGT union at ArcelorMittal,
Facing the low demand, ArcelorMittal has sought to lower its
capacity in low products and has reached a deal with employees at its site in
the Belgian city of Liege.
ArcelorMittal in December avoiding a threat by the French
Government to nationalize the company's Florange site over two blast furnaces
that the steelmaker says are no longer financially viable.
Restarting of the Dunkerque blast furnace will bring the
facility which employs nearly about 3,000 people, and will in part supply the
Florange facility with raw steel for processing. The blast furnace was
originally shut down for maintenance but kept closed due to low demand.
ArcelorMittal said steel demand in the previous month in
Europe has declined by 29 % due to the onset of the global economic crisis and reported
its European operations by $4.3 billion.
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