Usiminas, leader in the steel market, will temporarily suspend activities because of the new coronavirus pandemic in the country. The steelmaker will temporarily suspend the operations of blast furnaces 1 and 2 in Ipatinga, Minas Gerais, and the activities of Steelworks 1. In Cubatão, in Baixada Santista, the production of rolled products will also be temporarily suspended.
In an interview with CNN, Sergio Leite de Andrade, CEO of the company, evaluated the Brazilian crisis scenario.
“We had to make an important decision due to the impact we are having on the market. We have expectations, based on information from Instituto Aço Brasil, of a drop in steel consumption of more than 50% in April in our country”, he explains.
As a result of the new measures, Andrade said that jobs will not be changed for at least 30 days. “Regarding our employees, we are maintaining the employment of 100% of our Usiminas workforce.”
“Today, part of this force continues to operate our companies, our industrial units, we have another portion that is now going on collective vacations. For the month of April we will keep it. Going forward, we will analyze other options depending on the evolution of the crisis”, he concluded.
Source: CNN Brasil
