The management of Arcelor Mittal Galati plant will lay off 500 employees through a voluntary redundancy program. This is one of the measures taken to ensure that the unit is not closed.
The risk exists, however, the management of the largest steel producer in the world argues that, if the current trend is maintained , the business becomes unprofitable.
Arcelor Mittal steel plant owners complain that they are paying too much for electricity in Romania because of the taxes imposed whereas their competitors do not have to bear such high costs.
Under these circumstances, the steel plant in Galati registered losses in recent years and the management fear that in 2015 they will have to cease their activity.