News »Browse Articles »
Of strikes, job cuts, the recession and his vision : Lakshmi Mittal
0
Of strikes, job cuts, the recession and his vision : Lakshmi Mittal
ou were moving ahead with the integration of Arcelor with Mittal quite nicely even after a slump gripped the steel market. What was the flash point that led you to shift gears and go as far as to cut production?
For many business people the collapse of Lehman Brothers was an important moment. I remember this moment very well, it happened a few days after the ArcelorMittal Leadership Conference was held in Delhi. It was a meeting of the 650 top executives of the company. The atmosphere was normal, but the collapse of Lehman Brothers was a first really strong warning bell. The world is witnessing the worst global recession since 1945. Most people will not have witnessed anything like this during their careers so far.
How is the present slowdown different from the earlier ones?
While the slowdown in 2001 was a steel crisis, now we are facing a global economic crisis that started in the financial sector.
We have seen the severe problems of some of our customers – most notably in the automotive sector. This is the backdrop against which we are operating today.
Not unsurprisingly this has had an impact on the steel industry as well. We had face a deep decline in demand and an accelerated fall in steel price.
We must accept that businesses need to ensure they are operating in the most efficient, productive and cost-conscious way to manage this shift into what will continue to be a challenging period.
Despite the fact that steel demand has fallen as economies have slipped into recession, I remain confident in the fundamental demand for steel. Steel is not only an intrinsic material for building the infrastructure of the world, but also the most recyclable, and this will not change.
Do you think the steel industry was taken in by the boom in commodity prices and over-reacted? On hindsight, would it have been possible to see the signs of slowdown if the industry had been a little more careful and consequently better prepared?
There is a widespread recognition that the speed and impact of the crisis was very difficult to foresee.
We believe our strategy was the right strategy. The steel industry needed to consolidate and our strategy was to lead that integration. We believe it was an important part of creating a stronger industry. The industry overall is in more robust shape to weather harsh conditions that in previous downturns on account of consolidation that has taken place in recent years.
he fundamental rationale behind the merger was to ....
Source:
http://www.business.in.com/interview/magazine-extra/the-lakshmi-mittal-interview
For many business people the collapse of Lehman Brothers was an important moment. I remember this moment very well, it happened a few days after the ArcelorMittal Leadership Conference was held in Delhi. It was a meeting of the 650 top executives of the company. The atmosphere was normal, but the collapse of Lehman Brothers was a first really strong warning bell. The world is witnessing the worst global recession since 1945. Most people will not have witnessed anything like this during their careers so far.
How is the present slowdown different from the earlier ones?
While the slowdown in 2001 was a steel crisis, now we are facing a global economic crisis that started in the financial sector.
We have seen the severe problems of some of our customers – most notably in the automotive sector. This is the backdrop against which we are operating today.
Not unsurprisingly this has had an impact on the steel industry as well. We had face a deep decline in demand and an accelerated fall in steel price.
We must accept that businesses need to ensure they are operating in the most efficient, productive and cost-conscious way to manage this shift into what will continue to be a challenging period.
Despite the fact that steel demand has fallen as economies have slipped into recession, I remain confident in the fundamental demand for steel. Steel is not only an intrinsic material for building the infrastructure of the world, but also the most recyclable, and this will not change.
Do you think the steel industry was taken in by the boom in commodity prices and over-reacted? On hindsight, would it have been possible to see the signs of slowdown if the industry had been a little more careful and consequently better prepared?
There is a widespread recognition that the speed and impact of the crisis was very difficult to foresee.
We believe our strategy was the right strategy. The steel industry needed to consolidate and our strategy was to lead that integration. We believe it was an important part of creating a stronger industry. The industry overall is in more robust shape to weather harsh conditions that in previous downturns on account of consolidation that has taken place in recent years.
he fundamental rationale behind the merger was to ....
Source:
http://www.business.in.com/interview/magazine-extra/the-lakshmi-mittal-interview
