There are 170 workers at the Liberty Steel site in Dudelange. Photo: Guy Wolff/Maison Moderne

There are 170 workers at the Liberty Steel site in Dudelange. Photo: Guy Wolff/Maison Moderne

While the Belgian courts are occupied with the sale of the Liège sites of steelmaker Liberty Steel, the future of the Dudelange branch remains uncertain. Management is reportedly ready to consider selling the site, and the ministry of the economy says it has identified an industrial buyer.

In Dudelange, Liberty Steel management told the unions that the steel group was “ready to consider discussions on a possible sale”. The unions were cautious in their response.

“This is a logical follow-up to what is happening in Liège, where the courts are busy organising the sale of the two Liberty Steel sites. Here in Luxembourg, the management has confirmed that it is ready to enter into discussions. This is a first step, but we now need to see how serious this statement is. Will they be proactive? Will they wait for a buyer to knock on the door? Will they approach the ministry of the economy, which can act as a facilitator in such a case? These are all questions that remain unanswered for the time being,” says Robert Fornieri, trade union secretary of the LCGB work union, who no longer hides his distrust of the steel group.

Avoiding bankruptcy

The Luxembourg management of the steel company will lose its director, Jean-Louis Remlinger, who has decided to leave the group because of differences in strategic views. According to Delano’s sister publication Paperjam, he should remain active in the Luxembourg steel sector. This information has not been confirmed by Liberty Steel, which said it would “not comment on personal decisions”.

With no production and a parent company facing financial problems since March 2021, the unions are concerned that Liberty Steel in Dudelange is heading for bankruptcy. “For a future investor or buyer, bankruptcy would obviously be the most favourable scenario. But for the workers and the unions, bankruptcy means a break in contracts and gains. This is why we want to favour a scenario with an industrial buyer with a concrete plan and a strategic vision,” says Fornieri.

A buyer already identified

The question is whether a buyer has already been identified. When asked about this, the economy ministry said that it was ready to provide support in order to preserve the jobs and the sustainability of the Dudelange site. Above all, the ministry has said that a buyer has already been identified.

“On the joint initiative of the ministry of the economy and the ministry of labour, employment and the social and solidarity economy, in close collaboration with the LCGB and OGBL trade unions, all stakeholders are actively working together to maintain steel activities and preserve jobs at the Luxembourg site of Liberty Steel. In this context, following the intervention of the ministry of economy, a reliable industrial buyer with a realistic and feasible business plan has been identified. The coming weeks will be decisive as to whether or not this option, which requires the support of all the players concerned, will be implemented,” the economy ministry stated.

A site that has been shut down for weeks

The Liberty Steel site in Dudelange has been at a standstill for several weeks now, producing almost nothing. The daily life of the 170 workers, for those who are not exempt from work, consists of maintaining the machines and the production tools day after day.

Since last September, the unions have been calling for Liberty Steel to leave in favour of an industrial player with a reliable plan. Although eyes quickly turned to ArcelorMittal, the operation is still delicate since the steel giant had to sell the site in Dudelange in order to remove the competition concerns of the European Commission in the context of the takeover of the Italian Ilva.

When asked about the possible sale of its Dudelange site, Liberty Steel asked for a delay in responding in order to formulate a detailed answer.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.