Polish government to discuss future of steel assets with ArcelorMittal

Polish Minister of State Assets Wojciech Balczun will soon meet with representatives of ArcelorMittal to discuss the future of the company’s operations in the country. The minister announced this during a press conference, stating that the talks will focus on the group’s strategic plans regarding its presence in or exit from Europe.

According to the minister, Poland may consider participating in the preservation of steel assets, but this is a private international structure that makes autonomous business decisions. At the same time, he called the very fact of the government’s dialogue with the company a search for solutions.

Trade unions confirm that the situation at ArcelorMittal’s plants in Poland remains difficult. Mirosław Nowak, head of Solidarity at the plant in Dąbrowa Górnicza, said that the company had not announced any radical changes in its strategy, but managers openly acknowledge the deterioration in business conditions due to rising electricity prices and an excess of cheap imported steel.

In September, ArcelorMittal temporarily shut down one of its two blast furnaces in Dąbrowa Górnicza due to the difficult market environment, without specifying when it would restart. According to the unions, this indicates low production profitability.

ArcelorMittal Poland comprises six major enterprises and accounts for about 50% of the country’s metallurgical capacity, including the largest coke production in Europe. The group’s enterprises in Poland employ about 9,000 people.

The Polish metallurgical industry, like the European industry in general, suffers from high energy prices, which complicates the modernization of production and the transition to electric arc furnaces. An additional challenge has been the influx of cheap steel. The European Commission recently announced a halving of duty-free steel import quotas and an increase in duties to 50% to limit this flow, but this does not solve the industry’s energy efficiency problem.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Wojciech Balczun recently stated that the Polish government is closely monitoring the situation surrounding the metallurgical giant ArcelorMittal’s enterprises in Europe. According to him, if the Indian concern leaves the market, the country may consider the possibility of buying out enterprises, in particular in Dąbrowa Górnicza and Katowice.