British-based commodities tycoon Sanjeev Gupta's global metals businesses said on Thursday it will cut costs and shed jobs due to a sharp slide in demand that could last up to 18 months.
The GFG Alliance, a conglomerate with wide ranging operations including steel, aluminium and infrastructure, said its business had been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
GFG, with 35,000 workers, needed to adjust to the new market environment so it would aim to cut costs by 30%, including an unspecified number of job cuts, it said in a statement.
"Demand from steel consuming sectors in certain regions has dropped by between 20% and 40% - an impact which is likely to continue for 12 to 18 months, compounding an already challenging market," GFG said.
GFG said its steel and aluminium businesses were sticking to their climate change commitments to become carbon neutral by 2030, adding the steel division would invest in new low-carbon technology in Romania, the Czech Republic and Australia.
The conglomerate has merged its steel operations into a new entity, Liberty Steel, to be ready for a potential listing, and said in January it would fold its aluminium assets into a new company, ALVANCE, based in Paris.