ArcelorMittal to cut up to 9,000 jobs

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, unveiled plans on Thursday to slash up to 9,000 more jobs, saving $1 billion a year in response to a deepening global economic downturn.

The company said it would launch a voluntary redundancy scheme for largely white collar staff to make the cuts, which which could affect about 3 per cent of its workforce.

Up to 6,000 of the job losses would come in Europe, where its largest offices are in Luxembourg and Paris.

The company warned on Tuesday that it might indefinitely lay off 16 per cent of its US workforce, or around 2,400 people, as it cut steel output there by 40 per cent.

It has since settled on 490 positions going through a voluntary scheme. "The global economic reality means that it is only sensible to adopt such measures," Bernard Fontana, a member of ArcelorMittal's management committee, said in a statement.