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COCA-COLA

Coca-Cola set to axe 750 jobs in Spain

Coca-Cola is looking to close four of its 11 bottling plants in Spain in a move that would affect the jobs of 1,250 people, the company and the UGT union said.

Published: 23 January 2014 09:02 CET
Coca-Cola set to axe 750 jobs in Spain
Photo: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP

The company's Spanish subsidiary, Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, plans to shutter its plants in the northwestern Asturias region, the Balearic Islands, near Madrid and in southeastern Alicante, the union said in a statement.

UGT said it was seeking to negotiate with Coca-Cola to head off the closures, and would launch strikes and demonstrations to press its position.

The company, in a statement published in Spanish media, said it would try to place 500 of the affected workers in other positions, and offer the rest early retirement or attractive termination packages.

"The restructuring aims to gain efficiency and competitiveness, and to avoid duplication that could compromise the future viability of the company," it said.

Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, which currently has 4,000 employees on its books, was founded last year by merging the seven bottling companies in Spain owned by the US brand.

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STEEL

EU opens probe into ArcelorMittal purchase of Ilva

European Union anti-trust authorities have opened an investigation into global steel giant ArcelorMittal's bid to buy struggling Italian steel producer Ilva, officials said on Wednesday.

Published: 9 November 2017 09:20 CET
EU opens probe into ArcelorMittal purchase of Ilva
Ilva's Taranto site in southern Italy is at the centre of a huge legal case over toxic emissions. Photo: Alfonso Di Vincenzo/AFP

The €1.8 billion ($1.9-billion) deal would see ArcelorMittal join forces with Italy's Marcegaglia to snap up the heavily indebted company, which employs 14,000 people.

“The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Ilva by ArcelorMittal under the EU merger regulation,” said the commission, the executive of the 28-nation EU.

“The Commission has concerns that the merger may reduce competition for a number of flat carbon steel products,” the commission said in a statement.

The Commission now has until 23rd March 2018 to decide on whether competition rules would be violated and approve or reject the proposed merger.

The EU's anti-trust commissioner Margrethe Vestager said European industries dependent on steel employ 30 million people and need to buy the material at competitive prices to compete globally.

“This is why we will carefully investigate the impact of ArcelorMittal's plans to buy Ilva on effective competition in steel markets,” Vestager said in the statement.

ArcelorMittal has pledged to keep at least 10,000 employees “for the entire duration of the industrial plan” following negotiations with unions.

After news first leaked of the takeover, hundreds of employees at Ilva's site in the northwestern city of Genoa staged a protest in June.

Ilva's Taranto site in southern Italy is at the centre of a huge legal case in which experts cited by prosecutors have charged that 11,550 people have died from toxic emissions in seven years.

Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo has planned to join the consortium before the deal is closed.

The offer includes plans to invest €2.4 billion in Ilva, with funds earmarked for upgrading industrial equipment and improving environmental standards.

ArcelorMittal has said Ilva would be an important strategic acquisition, offering a significant presence in a country where it has no primary steelmaking capacity.