Voestalpine plans to cut 150 jobs in its pipe division at its plant in Kindberg, Austria. Company executives announced the move during a quarterly conference call and cited US import restrictions as the main reason.
Chief Executive Herbert Eibensteiner said sales of seamless pipes had been hit by US tariffs. The division supplies 15% of its output to the US market. It is currently unable to redirect shipments to customers in the energy sector in the Middle East because of the war in Iran.
“We are aware of our social responsibility, and we are working with the works council on a workforce reduction plan through the end of November,” Eibensteiner said.
The problems have affected not only exports from Europe to the US, but also Voestalpine’s US operations. Chief Financial Officer Gerald Mayer told Kallanish that steel prices are rising sharply in the US because of a shortage, complicating the work of the company’s local processing plants.
Canada considered tariffs similar to those imposed by the US but ultimately abandoned the measure, Mayer noted. “Although the circumstances are the same as in the US,” he added.
In Austria, the company’s operations are being affected by the persistently low water levels on the Danube. Voestalpine continues to shift transport to rail. Of the 17 million tonnes of materials delivered to and shipped from its Linz plant each year, 10% is transported by river. The Danube’s share used to be twice as high, Mayer said.
Executives also said the greentec project to switch to hydrogen-based direct reduced iron production is on schedule and within budget. German company thyssenkrupp Steel previously said that the launch of its direct reduction iron plant would be delayed.