ArcelorMittal's South African subsidiary announced on Monday that it would shut down the Saldanha steel plant because of its heavy financial losses. Saldanha steel plant is controlled by ArcelorMittal. Recently, a total of 568 employees have been working in the plant for more than 20 years.

ArcelorMittal is currently conducting a strategic review of its business and finds that the operation of Saldanha steel plant has lost its cost competitive advantage in the market, mainly due to fluctuations in raw material prices and price controls.

The steel plant, which cost $1 billion to build, began operations in the 1970s. The main products are steel plates with an annual output of about 1.2 million tons. ArcelorMittal said it expects losses at the Saldanha steel plant to continue, so it will shut down its production facilities and "maintain and maintain" them by the first quarter of 2020.

The next phase of the company's review will focus on the operation of the steel plant in Newcastle (KwaZulu Natal province in the eastern province of the Republic of South Africa), as well as some long steel rolling facilities. (From LGMI)