ArcelorMittal France President clears Emmanuel Macron and seeks to reassure

ArcelorMittal, which announced a plan on April 23 to cut 636 jobs in France, did not inform the President of the Republic of this "in mid-March," during a meeting at the Elysée Palace between the French management of the world's second-largest steelmaker and the head of state, Alain Le Grix de la Salle, president of ArcelorMittal France, assured MPs.

"When I went to the Élysée Palace in mid-March, I was not aware of a finalized plan or anything regarding Dunkirk," the group's main French site, said Mr. Le Grix de la Salle. Therefore, it "was not discussed" because "I was not aware of it," he reaffirmed.

According to him, the job cuts plan was requested by the group's senior management "to correct the situation" after a "drastic deterioration in ArcelorMittal France Nord's results in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025."

"And when there was this exchange with the President of the Republic, we were not talking about French operational issues, we were talking about France's role with the European Commission," the leader clarified.

According to him, this plan is justified by the sharp decline in the steel market in France and Europe. "It is essential that we adapt our tools to remain competitive, otherwise the whole structure will collapse," he said.

"France is not a fast-growing region like other major regions, so when your order books (Editor's note: order books) are falling, you take measures" to "adapt and remain competitive."

Questioned by MPs, he justified the payment of dividends to the group's shareholders despite plans to reduce staff.

"Between 2009 and 2020, our shareholders carried out capital increases of $13 billion to support the group," said CFO Audrey Gies, who also appeared before the deputies.

"Negative results"

Mr. Le Grix de la Salle nevertheless admitted the veracity of the arguments put forward by the CGT on the decline in maintenance investments in France.

"It's real," he said: "to invest in maintenance, you need to have results," and France's results "are negative." But "that doesn't mean" that the group "will close" its French sites tomorrow.

According to him, the plan to cut 636 jobs in France, which is being discussed with trade unions, will result in the departure of some "380 people" in total, including "154" in Dunkirk, where the largest blast furnaces in Europe are located.

The official also sought to reassure investors about ArcelorMittal's long-term presence in France by mentioning the launch of a decarbonization plan. However, some of the planned investments, including the installation of iron ore reduction equipment (IRE), cannot be announced by the end of the year due to excessively high gas prices in Europe, he acknowledged.

"By the end of the year," once the European Commission has moved forward with its measures to protect the steel market, the group nevertheless says it is "hopeful" of communicating on its decarbonization plans in Europe, and particularly in Dunkirk and Fos-sur-Mer, its two main bases in France.

The contract with Ademe, which granted €850 million in public aid as part of the decarbonization plan suspended at the end of November, will therefore have to be rediscussed and extended until the end of 2025.