Mittal Steel Shareholders Approve Merger With ISG

Shareholders in Mittal Steel meeting in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on April 12 and counterparts from International Steel Group (ISG) in New York approved a merger of the two companies that will create the world's largest steel maker.

Malay Mukherjee, general director, Mittal Steel said the merger will mean the elimination of 40,000 jobs from a global workforce of 160,000 over the next five years, adding that job cuts in Europe and the U.S. would not be "substantial," since productivity is high in both regions. He added that the combined entity would have "more opportunities in China."

Mittal expects to ship 62 million tons of steel this year, up from 42.1 million in 2004. Sales in 2004 came to $22.2 billion.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2005