Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas will begin a voluntary resignation program and offer voluntary dismissal packages to workers at its Ipatinga plant in Belo Horizonte. The proposal was approved by the Ipatinga union in a Minas Gerais state labor court. The program will be carried out from May 4, 2009 to May 22, 2009.
Usiminas did not give figures for the severance packages or comment on how many employees would be affected. However, a company spokesperson said that the company's goal was to lower wages to 10 percent of the company's expenditures.
Currently, three of the company's five blast furnaces are halted, two of which are at Ipatinga with the other at the Cubatão operation in São Paulo state. The company is operating at 50 percent of its capacity.