Italy’s government said Thursday it has taken the first steps to bring its struggling giant steel mills under state supervision in a bid to save production and thousands of jobs.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said Italy’s state investment agency Invitalia sent a letter on Wednesday to Acciaeri d’Italia, the Taranto factory operator majority-owned by ArcelorMittal, proposing the move.
Acciaieri d’Italia CEO Lucia Morselli has 15 days to respond, a government source told AFP.
The government on Tuesday adopted a decree paving the way for putting the steel mill, one of Europe’s largest, under special administration.
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That includes appointing a commissioner to manage the company and draw up a rescue plan, pending the arrival of new investors.
Meloni’s office said in a memo that state oversight will continue while Rome searches for “the best private partner aimed at safeguarding the continuity of production, protecting jobs and guaranteeing the safety of workers.” Then he said.
In the meantime, the government announced it was prepared to guarantee the “current liquidity” of the former Ylva factory in the southern city with a 320 million euro ($347 million) bridging loan.
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Acciaieri d’Italia is deeply in debt, unable to pay many of its suppliers and utility bills, and is at risk of having its Taranto plant’s gas cut off.
The facility is being operated as a joint venture between ArcelorMittal, the world’s second-largest steel producer, which owns 68%, and the Italian state-owned company, which has owned 38% since 2021.
Rome considers the site a strategic asset, but it has long been plagued by a lack of funding and environmental scandals.
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When ArcelorMittal took office in 2018, it pledged to invest in “low carbon” steel and increase production to 8 million tonnes in 2025.
The plant’s steel production in 2022 was only 3.4 million tons, and its production in 2023 was below 3 million tons.
After the site was last placed under temporary administration in 2015, ArcelorMittal responded to a call for tenders and at the end of 2018 sold Ylva Group and its 10,700 employees (including 8,200 in Taranto). It took over.
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Italian officials said the company refused to invest any more money in crisis talks with the right-wing government last week.
The Italian government’s offer to finance a 320 million euro capital increase, which would have raised its stake from 38% to 66% control, was rejected.
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