ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, unveiled plans on Thursday to slash up to 9,000 more jobs, saving $1bn a year in response to a deepening global economic downturn, reports Reuters. The company said it would launch a voluntary redundancy scheme for largely white collar staff to make the cuts, which could affect about 3% of its workforce. Up to 6,000 of the job losses would come in Europe, where its largest offices are in Luxembourg and Paris. The company warned Tuesday it might indefinitely lay off 16% of its U.S. workforce, or around 2,400 people, as it cut steel output there by 40%. It has since settled on 490 positions going through a voluntary scheme. ArcelorMittal, which has a global workforce of over 326,000 in more than 60 countries, has called a meeting of the European works council in Luxembourg on Thursday to present the plans.
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