There are concerns that ArcelorMittal’s decision to shut down its long steel business will lead to a socio-economic catastrophe. While government is said to have done nothing about the reasons for the shutdown, the department of trade, industry and competition says it still wants to prevent the shutdown.
ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) made a final decision to mothball its long-steel operations at its Newcastle Works and Vereeniging Works, as well as its rail and structural subsidiary, AMRAS.
Employers’ organisation SEIFSA (Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa) warns that the announcement will have a devastating impact on communities, suppliers, contractors and the broader metals and engineering sector.
“SEIFSA repeatedly warned of a socio-economic catastrophe should ArcelorMittal shutter its plants. Some of the most alarming estimates over and above the reported 3 500 direct jobs on the line are the medium-term impact of second round effects in the order of 20 000 to 25 000 jobs and in the longer-term multiples of this.
“The effect of this latest development will reverberate throughout the economy and the continent, impacting the auto, motor, construction and mining sub-sector of the economy and all who work in it,” Elias Monage, federation president of SEIFSA, says.
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