Mr. Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy, visits Belval

Luxembourg, May 5, 2020 - ArcelorMittal received this Monday, May 4, on its Belval site, Mr. Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy, who came to check the situation as close as possible to the reality of business, as part of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Management of ArcelorMittal, represented by Mr. Michel Wurth, President of ArcelorMittal Luxembourg, Mr. Roland Bastian, Vice-President of ArcelorMittal Luxembourg and director of the Belval plant, and by Mrs. Valérie Massin Vice-President of ArcelorMittal Luxembourg, was able to describe in detail the complexity which industrial activity currently has to face. Confronted with the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the Luxembourg sites of ArcelorMittal have put their production activities on hold for a few days to define and introduce reinforced health measures in order to allow their staff to resume activity in optimal protection conditions for everyone’s health.

ArcelorMittal Luxembourg expresses its gratitude to the government for having been able, in this extraordinary situation, to implement an emergency action plan which made it possible to mitigate the negative impact of the epidemic of Covid-19 on local companies. The support given to the most affected among them and especially the partial unemployment measures have given a valuable flexibility for these entities. In the weeks and months to come, it will be necessary to continue this fundamental work and to know how to adapt to the consequences that this crisis will continue to generate.
Michel Wurth, Président of ArcelorMittal Luxembourg and member of the Board

In the current context, which still contains many unknowns, the precious support of the public authorities and the coordination of the various economic actors are essential levers to promote a gradual and effective resumption of activities, particularly in the industrial sector. As such, the exchange of views with the Minister concluded that there is a need to support the steel industry in Europe by reviving economic activity, strictly supervising imports in a context of increasing overcapacity in the world and by adapting the rules of the emissions trading system in order not to penalize steel European producers.

The measures taken by ArcelorMittal and with the help of public authorities allow us to operate our sites currently under acceptable conditions and thus respond to customer requests. However, we will no doubt fall short of our financial and production targets and we will have to fight hard to defend our positions on our markets. Concerted and coordinated action by all the actors will be more than ever necessary to safeguard the interests of the Luxembourg and European steel industry.
Roland Bastian, CEO ArcelorMittal Beval