The issue was discussed on Thursday morning by MPs in the Parliamentary Commission for Economic Affairs. However, no information has been released so far about what was said.
The commission's chairman, MP Claude Haagen from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), invoked the secrecy of the deliberations to justify his discretion. The Ministry of the Economy requested that the discussions remain secret, seeing as negotiations are still ongoing. Officials are currently examining the extent to which the state could intervene temporarily. The Dudelange site is in fact at risk of bankruptcy.
This situation is in turn due to the bankruptcy of the Greensill Capital bank, which is based in England and Australia. This bankrupted the family group of steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta, Gupta Family Group Alliance, of which Liberty Steel is a subsidiary. As Greensill Bank was Liberty Steel's largest capital provider, the company is now short of cash.
Without the corresponding financial means, the company will only be able to fulfil 40% of all orders for the time being. In 2019, when ArcelorMittal sold the site, it was agreed that raw materials would be delivered for five years, but due to the situation of the Gupta Family Group Alliance, deliveries are now only made against cash. The future of Liberty Steel in Dudelange is closely linked to that of the Liège site, as their activities are dependent on each other.
The Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB) and the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL) had warned of a situation such as this as early as 2019, prior to the sale to Liberty Steel. They would have preferred another owner.
