On 17 January 2023, the Minister of the Economy, Franz Fayot, and the Minister of Labour, Georges Engel, had invited the trade unions and the management of ArcelorMittal Luxembourg to take part in the traditional meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the tripartite steel industry agreement LUX2025 (Comité de suivi de l’accord tripartite sidérurgie LUX2025). This annual meeting allows the different actors to take stock of the past year. For the OGBL, it is above all an opportunity to check whether the agreement is being applied properly and to verify whether ArcelorMittal is keeping its commitments.

Jobs saved

ArcelorMittal currently employs around 3,200 people in Luxembourg. The restructuring initially envisaged by ArcelorMittal foresees that by the end of 2025, its workforce will only amount to around 3,000 employees out of the 3,500 employees that the company still had at the beginning of 2020. The OGBL will of course never be satisfied with job cuts, but nevertheless points out that the use of various instruments, including early retirement, outplacement and internal reorganization, has made it possible to avoid a social plan.

The year 2022 was not the year of job cuts within the company. The OGBL has nevertheless noted in some cases a worrying deterioration in working conditions. Reorganizations, departures that are difficult to replace, and the prevailing lack of manpower are having a negative impact on employees’ quality of life. This situation is further reflected in the number of departures. The number of employees who have left the company is around 450 in less than 3 years. The OGBL is paying particular attention to this on a daily basis and is not forgetting the ongoing discussions for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement, which must also be able to provide concrete solutions for the staff.

It should also be noted that not all the planned reorganizations have yet taken place. In this context, the OGBL will continue to closely accompany the transformations, paying particular attention to the respect of employees’ interests.

Realized and forthcoming investments

In 2022, ArcelorMittal has exceeded the level of its commitments in terms of investments to be made. As a reminder, the company had committed to invest between 165 and 205 million euros. Today, ArcelorMittal has already made 2/3 of the minimum investments required and has therefore exceeded the level expected at this stage. The OGBL thus notes that the company is respecting its commitments towards the employees and the Luxembourg government.

Additional investment projects, other than those planned, were also discussed at the Monitoring Committee meeting (comité de suivi). These are part of the additional 130 million euros investment package announced in September 2022, aimed at financing decarbonization technologies for the Belval and Bissen sites.

The future of ArcelorMittal in Luxembourg

As regards the construction of the building in Kirchberg that is to house the company’s new headquarters, work has begun and is expected to be completed in 2026.

The OGBL also remains attentive to the future of the Dommeldange site, in order to ensure that it will continue to exist, while at the same time ensuring that the guarantees given by the group regarding the maintenance of activities during the period of validity of the agreement and beyond are respected.

As for Bissen, despite announcements of investments aimed at decarbonizing the site, the OGBL remains relatively worried. The site is currently going through an unprecedented crisis, the reasons for which, for the OGBL, are to be found in the strategic choices made by the “WireSolutions” division, which are currently weighing on the results.

The ship is staying on course and maintaining its cruising speed!

Despite a very unstable geopolitical and health context, volatile energy prices, and restructuring carried out and to come, ArcelorMittal continues to post positive figures. The employees and the Luxembourg sites contribute largely to this result. It is therefore clear to the OGBL that ArcelorMittal must invest more in Luxembourg. This applies both to its own activities and to the staff who accompany all developments.

Despite some reservations, the outcome of the follow-up meeting was generally positive. The OGBL would also like to thank the public authorities and the competent ministries for their commitment.

Press release by the Steel and Mining Syndicate of the OGBL,
January 17, 2022