ArcelorMittal says job cuts coming but declines to release figures

ArcelorMittal says job cuts coming

WEIRTON, W.Va. — Steel giant ArcelorMittal says it’s cutting an unspecified number of jobs and sticking to plans to use 70 percent of its capacity in the current quarter.

Spokesman Bill Steers said in an e-mail Tuesday that the company plans to cut through attrition and “optimization of production.”

Steers says ArcelorMittal, based in Luxembourg, hasn’t decided about production beyond this year. Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported ArcelorMittal would use 70 percent of capacity for four more years and planned about 10,000 job cuts, citing unidentified people.

United Steelworkers Local 2911 President Mark Glyptis says ArcelorMittal has cut a dozen management jobs lately at its mill in Weirton, West Virginia, but hasn’t discussed laying off rank-and-file employees.