Brazilian steel producer Gerdau announced the dismissal of 100 workers at its Pindamonhangaba plant, located in the state of São Paulo.
The plant, which produces specialty steel products, counts on a workforce of 2,500 workers, of which 180 were in a layoff period over the last five months, due to the reduced demand for the plant’s products.
The 100 workers that were dismissed are part of this group, which was supposed to return to work this week, after the country’s Carnival holidays.
The company said in a statement that the dismissals “are following the challenging scenario faced by the Brazilian market vis-s-vis the predatory conditions of steel imports from China.”
The company added that it is urgent the adoption of an increase from today’s 12 percent to 25 percent of the import tax for steel products, as an alternative to maintain the sustainability of its operations and of the employment in the area.
The local authorities have recently confirmed that the import tax increase remains in evaluation, which is opposed by an estimated 120,000 companies that have steel products as raw material, which fear that steel prices will increase soon after the tax is increased.
The domestic price of steel products in Brazil is based on international price of a similar product after clearing customs, usually added by a premium of 10 percent.