Saving the European steel sector and jobs

As the crisis facing the steel industry deepens, with dramatic job cut announcements arriving almost daily, in a statement  industriAll Europe and its members reiterate their firm call for urgent and ambitious action from Europe, Member States and industries to protect jobs, safeguard industrial capacity, and secure the future of steel production in Europe.

The European steel industry is at a critical turning point. Global overcapacity, unfair trade practices, and the recent imposition of new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium are compounding long-standing structural challenges. Rising energy costs, declining demand, and intensifying geopolitical tensions have placed enormous pressure on the sector, putting jobs and industrial capacity at risk. Production has collapsed, plants are closing and tens of thousands of workers have already lost their jobs. Without immediate action, more communities will be devastated, with jobs being lost every single day that decisions are delayed. 

Such announcements come despite the historical profits made by some steel companies in recent years and the unprecedented levels of public financial support received. It is unacceptable that, once again, workers are paying the price while companies continue to operate without adequate social accountability. This reflects a failure in the fair distribution of wealth in the sector. While shareholders and executives have benefited from record returns, steelworkers face unemployment and uncertainty. This injustice must be addressed through strong and binding social conditionalities on all public support to industry.

There is an urgent need for short-term support to protect workers during restructuring. IndustriAll Europe calls for a SURE 2.0 mechanism to provide economic security for workers and re-/upskilling programmes—ensuring that no worker is left behind.

Europe must accelerate the Clean Industrial Deal, tackle high energy costs, and stimulate internal demand and ensure a level playing field. We need urgent action to protect jobs, ensure fair competition, and support the green transition and Europe’s strategic autonomy and security.

We welcome the publication of the EU Steel and Metals Action Plan in March 2025 as a first step, yet its generic scope does not fully address the crisis. Time is running out, and the situation has already deteriorated further. Words are not enough. With urgent decarbonisation and energy investment needs, all resources must focus on safeguarding European steel. The Plan must now be implemented without delay and reinforced with concrete social measures that put workers at the centre. Management should take its responsibility as well. And we must avoid a race to the bottom in wages, working conditions, and investment between European companies and sites competing in a fragmented market.

As trade unions in the steel sector, we urge for swift and effective protective trade measures, urgent support to enable decarbonisation without deindustrialisation, an effective CBAM mechanism and a strong Just Transition to protect workers, including active labour market policies. Urgent public support is needed to drive the decarbonisation of the sector, but this must go hand in hand with binding social guarantees—ensuring quality jobs, fair working conditions, and long-term employment in industrial regions.

Read the full statement here EN FR DE