“Given the extent of the outbreak, the health and safety implications, and particularly the impact it is having on several European countries in which ArcelorMittal operates, the company is taking steps to reduce production from its European operations to ensure the wellbeing of our employees is maintained and that production is aligned with demand,” it said in a statement.  

“We will continue to monitor the evolution of the coronavirus in each of our operating markets and take decisions accordingly to ensure the wellbeing of our employees and our ability to meet customer demand.”

ArcelorMittal didn’t detail the curtailments, but earlier in the week, ArcelorMittal Poland announced that it is postponing the restart of the blast furnace at its integrated plant in Krakow. 

“We must act responsibly and take care of our employees and our installations. Given the uncertainty we are facing and the fact that we do not know how COVID-19 will spread in Europe, this is the only right decision,” said Marc De Pauw, ArcelorMittal Poland general director and board president. 

ArcelorMittal idled the blast furnace at the end of last year on account of slumping demand but announced in February that it would return the furnace to service. At the time, it said it needed to make up for production being lost at its steel works in Belgium as the furnace is undergoing renovations.

Pauw said the new decision comes as customers throttle back their own production. 

“At the same time, I would like to emphasize that we are monitoring the development of the situation and are sticking to our earlier declaration regarding the restart of the raw material part in Kraków as soon as the situation normalizes,” he said. 

Elsewhere in Europe, ArcelorMittal is throttling back production at its steel works in Taranto, Italy, commodities news and pricing service Argus reported. 

“The shutdowns will include blast furnace number two, steelmaking shop one, hot strip mill one and the cold rolling mill, and will be implemented within the next week, with some shutdowns already in progress,” according to Argus.