It is reported that Russia's St. Petersburg-based joint stock company Kirov Works plans to lay off about 800 workers at its steel producing subsidiary Petrostal Iron and Steel Works (Petrostal) in July this year.
The decision depends on the amount of orders which Petrostal will receive up to the end of the current year, Kirov Works spokesman Cheslav Germanovich has stated. " For the plant to break even with minimal profitability, production of about 14,000-15,000 mt of steel products per month is required, whereas before Petrostal was manufacturing about 27,000 mt per month, i.e. 320,000 mt of steel products per year," Mr. Germanovich added.
In the first quarter of 2009 Petrostal registered a 30 percent decrease in its crude steel output.
Petrostal Iron and Steel Works employs 2,500 personnel, and produces rolled steel products from carbon and alloyed steel grades, which are used mostly in the construction and transport industrial branches. Petrostal delivers rolled sections to such companies as AvtoVaz, KAMAZ and GAZ.