The acindar steel company, controlled by the ArcelorMittal group, renewed an agreement with the Metallurgical Workers’ Union (UOM) in which the possible suspension of 970 employees in a staggered manner is enabled. This measure seeks to reduce costs due to the fall in demand and production and Amid the recent imposition of 25% tariffs by the United States to imports of steel and aluminum that would seriously affect the industry.
According to the guild, if they are suspended, Workers will receive 80% of their salary in February, 78% in March and 75% from April to December 2025. In parallel, the company achieved The 200 accessions that I was looking for with the Voluntary Retreat Plan which he launched at the beginning of January. In turn, he maintains the decision to eliminate Other 200 indirect positions through the renegotiation of agreements with contractor companies.
This situation occurs in a context of international commercial tensions. Recently, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced the imposition of 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports of all countries, without exceptions. This measure seeks to benefit the American industry, but it is anticipated that it will increase costs for companies and consumers in the United States, in addition to significantly affecting allies and commercial partners such as Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
Argentine companies such as Aluar, Ternium and Tenaris could be affected by these tariffs. According to data from 2024, Aluar export aluminum to the United States for a value of US $ 515 million, representing 40% of its production. On the other hand, Tenaris iron and steel exports added US $ 112 million in the same period.
In this framework, According to acindar sources, “the possible suspensions agreed with the union have no direct relationship with the imposition of Trump tariffs because the company is not exporting to the US. An agreement was renewed that was in force until December 31. It is simply a tool that the company has to advance in case the demand does not rebound. ”
Meanwhile, on the sidewalk in front, from the guild, they graphically explain that if Aluaris and Tenaris are affected by the imposition of tariffs to export to the North American market “The industry as a whole will be affected And for that Acindar seeks to reduce costs in a complicated context. ”
Acindar has five plants: Villa Constitución, Rosario, San Nicolás, La Tablada and Villa Mercedes. They all face some adjustment variant, which includes Production, suspensions and renegotiation stops With contractors. Meanwhile, the guild seeks alternative measures so that it does not advance with mass layoffs, but the truth is that Trump tariffs further complicate the stage.
As detailed, Acindar closed 2024 with a production of 600,000 tons, exactly half of 1.2 million tons produced in 2023. From the company, they explained that the strong fall was due to the decline in the consumption of steel in industry and construction during the first year of the management of President Javier Milei.
The position of Aluar
In a recent document, the Aluar company, the main aluminum producer in Argentina, analyzed the impact of commercial restrictions imposed by the United States and highlighted the need to preserve access to that market. The company, with more than 50 years in the industry, exports 75% of its production, generating more than US $ 1,000 million annually in foreign exchange. Of that total, “Aluar sales to the United States reach US $ 600 million annually, and in volume they represent 40% of its total production and 55% of its exports”. Until 2018, trade with that country was carried out without tariff restrictions, but with the application of section 232 of the Trade Expansion Actthe US government imposed new commercial barriers within a national security scheme, affecting the competitiveness of Argentine aluminum.
According to Aluar, thanks to diplomatic efforts, Argentina managed to establish “an export fee of 180,000 tons per year, free of tariffs, which remained unchanged until today”. However, they warn that this quota “represents less than 4% of primary aluminum consumption in that market (which needs to import more than 80% of its demand).”
In order to comply with this regime, the company states that it promoted “a very demanding adaptation of its logistics export processes, making investments to achieve and maintain the standards and face -to -face audits carried out by the North American Customs in our industrial plant”. At the same time, they emphasize that bilateral trade is beneficial for both parties, since “North American market customers value the quality and purity of Aluar aluminum, as well as the solidity of its service level and its reliable logistics chain within the same Western hemisphere ”. In turn, the company argues that it is supplied with services and key goods of US companies such as General Electric, Alcoa, Microsoft and Dubois Chemicals, among others.
Regarding the general commercial relationship between the two countries, Aluar remarks that, “even considering Aluar exports, in the last thirty years the global trade balance between the two has always been overcoming for the United States”, with an average balance of US $ S2.4 billion annually in the last decade. For this reason, they consider that “Argentine aluminum exports to the United States far from representing some type of threat to the national security of that country, rather, provide reliable and permanent livelihood in a key input of the American industry. ”
Finally, in the face of the possibility of new restrictions, The company expresses its confidence that “the excellent link between both governments will provide the possibility of agreeing on reasonable mechanisms that allow sustaining the export of aluminum from Argentina to the United States.”
Source: Ambito
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