According to the Associated Press, ArcelorMittal’s top executives were engaged in a four-hour discussion with the Italian government on Friday night over the fate of the Taranto steel mill.

“The aim ... is to get to a new industrial plan, with new production solutions and new ecological technologies allowing the highest effort in cleaning up the environment,” said Italy Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, according to the Reuters news service. 

In the meantime, union leaders on Saturday implored officials to protect the thousands of jobs that are now imperiled. The plant directly employs approximately 8,300 workers, and thousands more work indirectly with the facility.