ArcelorMittal Italia, a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal, informed the local metal union on Monday (January 20th) that the No.1 steel plant in Taranto will suspend production until the end of March this year, so 250 of 457 employees will be laid off and the remaining employees will be transferred to the No.2 steel plant.

Local unions opposed ArcelorMittal's decision because temporarily transferring the remaining employees to the No. 2 steel plant might have a negative impact on safety and the environment, and ArcelorMittal has not yet announced the future Industrial plan to the government and union organizations.

Considering that the current annual output was less than 4 million tons, ArcelorMittal's market share might continue to be lost.