AFP reported that ArcelorMittal said that it is cutting 500 jobs at its Polish plants after reducing production in the face of the global economic crisis.

The report cited Mr Andrzej Krzysztalowicz spokesman of ArcelorMittal Poland as saying that "We will be sacking 500 more people this year. The cuts come on top of 980 that had been planned for a long time as part of the group's restructuring in Poland. The primary reason is the crisis. We've reduced production by around 40%."

He added that ArcelorMittal is facing what it sees as unfair competition from cheap Russian steel, 3 million tonnes of which arrive on the European market every year.

He said that "We can't deal with that, despite the relatively attractive prospects on the Polish market in our sector thanks to construction sites linked to the Euro 2012 football championships."

It may be noted that in 2004, ArcelorMittal took control of the Polish steel holding company PHS, whose four mills account for around 70% of the national market.

(Sourced from www.afp.com)