ArcelorMittal Poland mill to suspend production due to rising costs

ArcelorMittal Poland has announced plans to temporarily shutdown the blast furnace and steel plant at its Krakow facility. Geert Verbeeck, the company's CEO, said the closure will take place in September and will last for "months or quarters", depending on the situation. According to Verbeeck, the decision is a result of rising costs of CO2 emission rights and energy, lower demand due to weakening market conditions and increased imports of steel from outside the EU. During a Monday briefing, Verbeeck added the company does not plan any layoffs. Some 1,200 people employed in the primary part of the Krakow unit in south-east Poland are to be moved to the processing section -- the rolling mill or other Polish based ArcelorMittal units. ArcelorMittal Poland is the country's biggest steel producer with a 70 percent share in the overall production capacity of Poland's steel industry.