London (Platts)--24Jan2013/823 am EST/1323 GMT

ArcelorMittal intends to permanently shut additional assets of its Belgian presence in Liege, following the closure of the liquid phase at the site in October 2011, as the economic situation has further deteriorated, it said.

According to the company, the new closures will involve six finishing lines, including the hot strip mill in Certal, one cold rolling line in Tilleur, the galvanization lines in Flemalle and the electrogalvanizing lines in Marchin.

As a result, some 1,300 jobs will be lost in the area, leaving ArcelorMittal with only 800 workers and five finishing lines operating in the area.

In addition, the company has decided to shut permanently the coke facility in Liege, due to the excess of supply of coke in Europe.

Article continues below...

Request a free trial of: Steel Markets Daily
	Steel Markets Daily provides transparent daily and weekly assessments of iron ore, coking coal, coke, ferrous scrap and ferroalloys prices, plus insightful analysis and commentary on the day's market activities.

"We had hoped that that closure would be adequate in terms of adapting to the reduced demand but given the continued lack of orders and overall weakness in the European economy, it has become increasingly apparent that further action is required if we are to stem the continued losses that the plant is reporting and return it to a sustainable basis," ArcelorMittal Liege CEO Bernard Dehut said.

--Emanuele Norsa, emanuele_norsa@platts.com
--Edited by James Leech, james_leech@platts.com

Tweet