“Our three blast furnaces are currently operating at the technological minimum, which means that further reduction of production volume is not an option,” said Geert Verbeeck, general director and president of the board of ArcelorMittal Poland.

“The market situation is still deteriorating, and the forecasts are not optimistic, which is why we have no choice — unfortunately we have to temporarily stop the blast furnace in our Krakow steel works.”

ArcelorMittal initially planned to idle the facilities in September, but later decided to put that action on hold. The company said it will now begin to take down the furnace on 23 November. 

The company reiterated that intends to restart the furnace and steel shop when market conditions improve.