ArcelorMittal South Africa (Amsa)’s longs business has initiated its closure process following continued engagements with the government and other stakeholders to find solutions on issues affecting the competitiveness of the longs business. Amsa is unable to compete against the subsidised mini mills, which produce the bulk of the long steel and, of course, imports. Logistics and electricity costs are set to increase, which further undermines the competitiveness of the business.
It is not yet clear how many downstream sectors are completely dependent on long steel from Amsa and how many can buy from the mini mills or import. The automotive sector says they can’t use recycled steel in the production of critical components in a car. I presume there are others too.
According to Amsa, 3 500 direct and indirect jobs will be lost because of this closure, which is truly terrible considering the unemployment rate of 32.9% for Q4 2024.
The last wind-down into care and maintenance is set to be completed in Q2 of 2025.