The United States Steel Corporation said that it would cut around a fifth of its workforce in Slovakia over by the next two years due to competition from cheap steel imports from outside the European Union. The company also faulted EU environmental regulations that have driven up the cost of power used to run the massive plant. The layoff will affect some 2,500 of the nearly 12,000 workers at the Kosice plant located in Slovakia's poorer east struggling with high unemployment. Company president James Bruno said that “By the end of 2021 we will reduce the number of employees working at US Steel Kosice and its subsidiaries by 2,500 employees. We must act to protect our business and remain competitive.”
A month ago, management decided to idle one of the plant's blast furnaces and reduce the working week to four days to save on costs.
US Steel pointed to higher electrical costs and CO2 credit costs that have risen five times in the past year as significant factors in its decision to shed employees
Source : FRANCE24.COM