UK
NRI Mittal of ArcelorMittal eliminate as many as 9000 jobs worldwide
London, Feb. 11, 2009
Sant Parkash Singh
UK
NRI Mittal, steel tycoon of ArcelorMittal,
announced that it might have to exceed 9,000 jobs cut worldwide,
including 6,000 in Europe.
The management of ArcelorMittal urged not to pay out hefty dividends
to shareholders when thousands of jobs are on the line as hundreds
of the steel giant's workers rallied in Brussels on Feb. 10. ArcelorMittal,
based in Luxembourg, cut its 2009 dividend to 75 cents a share due
to "exceptional global economic conditions" -- after assuring
investors last year that it expected to maintain a $1.50 dividend
in 2009.

Arcelor Mittal workers take part in a protest march in Brussels,
February 10, 2009. Several thousand steel workers protested against
Mittal's plan to cut jobs. Placard reads "shareholders millionaires,
workers in trouble." Organizers estimated that around 1,300
demonstrators took part in the protest in Brussels. . Photo by http://select.daylife.com/topic/Arcelor_Mittal
Its revenue posted a net loss of $2.6 billion in the three months
ended Dec. 31, down from net income of $2.44 billion a year earlier.
The results missed expectations for a profit of $424 million, based
on a Dow Jones Newswires poll of 11 analysts. For all of 2008, the
company reported sales of $124.9 billion, up nearly a fifth from
the previous year. But profits were down 9% to $9.4 billion. Steel
shipments were down 7%.
The ArcelorMittal chief said, "Based on productions, there
could be more voluntary separation schemes. I do not rule out that
it (voluntary redundancies) will be limited to only 9,000, but depending
on the market conditions, it could be more."

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