There seems to be a temporary ceasefire in the heated dispute between ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel maker, and the French government over the closure of two blast furnaces in north-eastern France, after French President Francois Hollande met Lakshmi Mittal, who heads the company, at his office in a bid to mend ties.
Here are the latest events as they unfolded
1) French president Hollande pressed the CEO of ArcelorMittal to avert the closure of two blast furnaces, raising the possibility of a state takeover while waiting for a buyer.
***************************
2) The talks were aimed at mending ties with ArcelorMittal, which employs around 20,000 people in France, and seek solutions to avoid shutting down the furnaces, including a temporary nationalisation of the surrounding steel works.
***************************
3) The fate of the two blast furnaces, which have been out of operation since last year due to lack of demand, is a hot issue in France, where President Hollande's Socialist government is under pressure to save jobs. On October 1, ArcelorMittal had said that it planned to close the two mothballed furnaces, where some 629 workers could lose their jobs.
***************************
4) French officials said Mittal had failed to meet commitments over the furnaces made in 2006 and 2009. ArcelorMittal denies the claims.
***************************
5) On November 26, in an interview to financial daily Les Echos, French Industrial Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg said: “We do not want Mittal in France any longer because they do not respect France."
***************************
6) Mittal wishes to shut the Florange furnaces but also to continue to produce rolled steel there for Volkswagen, BMW, Toyota and other car plants nearby. That would preserve three quarters of the 2,500 jobs, reports The Telegraph, London.
***************************
7) Last month ArcelorMittal reported a third quarter loss of €547m (£443m) because of a slump in Chinese demand and operating losses in Europe. ArcelorMittal, which accounts for about 6 per cent of world steel production, is trying to return to profitability.
***************************
8) The Russian steel-maker Severstal is believed to have expressed an interest in the site, as well as the Indian company Tata Steel, the Italian Riva, South Korean Posco and French Ascometal, according to The Guardian.
***************************
9) The French government argues that the Florange closure breaks promises made by Mittal during his hostile takeover of Arcelor, which was strongly opposed by ministers.
***************************
10) Economic weakness, particularly in Europe, prompted ratings agency Standard & Poor's to cut the steelmaker's debt to junk status in August. Moody's cut its outlook to negative.
*****************************
ALSO SEE
Timeline | The Sultan of Steel's journey so far
*****************************
Mittal juggernaut turns on Arcelor
Mittal may be in Delhi during French President Jacque Chirac visit
Mittal's Arcelor bid sparks India-EU row
PM seeks fair deal for Mittal
Arcelor- Severstal plan merger, Mittal says no impact on bid