Ferroglobe’s furnaces remain cold during the plant’s centenary year 

Solidarity states that the decision to place Ferroglobe’s smelting furnaces in Witbank under temporary closure by the end of November affects approximately 200 jobs and places further unsustainable pressure on industrial workers in Mpumalanga. 

The plant began production in 1926, but now, a century later, there are too few orders to restart the furnaces.

Ferroglobe recently made progress in negotiations with Eskom and the government regarding a potential special electricity tariff. However, the company notes that the decline in the local steel and stainless steel industries, coupled with a drop in confirmed orders for ferrosilicon and related by-products, means that resuming operations – even at a more favourable tariff – is currently unviable. 

According to Cornelius van Leeuwen, Solidarity’s sector coordinator for the metal and engineering industry, this decision illustrates how closely the fates of local smelters and steel manufacturers are intertwined.

“A smelter requires both affordable electricity and orders. Ferroglobe needs a viable local steel industry to purchase its products. 

“In turn, local steel manufacturers require reliable suppliers of the additives used in their steel production processes. If one sector shrinks, the others feel it in their order books and, ultimately, on their payrolls,” says Van Leeuwen.

Solidarity previously welcomed the special electricity tariff granted to Glencore-Merafe and Samancor and requested that other smelters also be urgently provided with certainty regarding their electricity tariffs.

The trade union states that Ferroglobe’s decision demonstrates that the government must also address the pressures on the local market.

Solidarity is calling on the government and Eskom to make competitive electricity tariffs available to both smelters and local manufacturers of steel and stainless steel products.

The government must also urgently implement appropriate import tariffs on steel and stainless steel products from China, where cheap imports are undermining local production. South Africa’s export market for manufactured steel products is also under pressure, and the uncertainty surrounding these markets is having a significant impact on steel product manufacturers.

“These job losses were preventable. The government must now sit down with the industry and trade unions to make decisions regarding electricity prices and import protection. Otherwise, we will continue to negotiate retrenchments, plant by plant, while the local market shrinks further,” says Van Leeuwen.

In a separate statement, Ferroglobe indicated that it would maintain the furnaces and continuously assess the prospects for resuming operations. The company is also considering retaining certain operations. 

Solidarity will remain in discussions with the company regarding the preservation of as many jobs as possible and the conditions for a potential resumption of operations.