ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih began cold shutdown of production

The ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih plant has begun mothballing production halted after missile strikes.

This was reported by the enterprise’s management.

After four devastating missile attacks, which killed six workers and injured 18 people, primary metallurgical production was halted. Now the enterprise has begun implementing the cold shutdown process.

Over the next two months, it is planned to prepare production for a safe shutdown and carry it out. Subsequently, the industrial assets will be mothballed in order to preserve the possibility of resuming operations after the end of hostilities.

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih CEO Mauro Longobardo emphasized that a cold shutdown is not merely a suspension of production, but a preventive measure to ensure business resilience and risk management at the level of each individual asset. According to him, the company’s main priority is to preserve workers and industrial capacity in order to resume operations at the earliest opportunity.

At the same time, the ArcelorMittal group does not plan to leave Ukraine.

“By our current assessment, safe operation is impossible while the war continues. After it ends, when conditions permit, we will begin a dialogue with the government of Ukraine and reassess whether operations can be safely and sustainably resumed,” the enterprise’s management stated.

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih has lost more than a billion dollars due to the shutdown. The plant announced the halt of production on September 25 due to constant shelling and logistics problems after the closure of ports.

On October 11, it was reported that ArcelorMittal was beginning the process of a complete shutdown of production with subsequent mothballing of capacity.

After that, the Kryvyi Rih city council appealed to the plant’s owner, Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, with a request to reconsider plans for a complete shutdown of Ukraine’s largest mining and metallurgical combine, which employs about 17,000 people.

Meanwhile, industry sources say that all Ukrainian metallurgical plants have already been destroyed by shelling.