The blast furnaces will remain on standby whilst the case is being heard by the Italian Court of Cassation

The Italian steelmaker Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI) suspended production at the hot rolling mill of its Taranto plant at the end of last week. This was reported by Il Secolo XIX.

At the same time, ADI’s plants in Genoa and Novi Ligure, which produce flat-rolled steel using coils from Taranto, will cease operations by 15 November.

Representatives of Acciaierie d’Italia gave notice of this move in a statement sent to the prefect, local authorities and law enforcement agencies. The decision is based on compliance with the ruling of the Milan Court of Appeal dated 27 July. The company is also calling for the establishment of social protection schemes.

The blast furnaces in Taranto will remain on standby whilst the Italian Court of Cassation considers the case — a ruling is expected on 20 October. If the ruling goes against Acciaierie d’Italia, this standby period will end on 24 October, at which point operations in the plant’s hot zone will be permanently halted, ‘with no possibility’ of resumption thereafter.

At the same time, the Mayor of Genoa, Silvia Salis, and the Mayor of Novi Ligure, Rocchino Muliere, described the decision as ‘utterly unacceptable’ in a joint statement.

Acciaierie d’Italia currently employs around 9,500 people, of whom 900 are based in Genoa and 500 in Novi Ligure. The government has now approved unemployment benefits for 4,450 people until the end of February 2027. However, Italy’s Minister for Labour, Marina Calderone, explained that, given the situation, these figures will be updated in early November. The number is likely to rise.

It should be recalled that in September 2026, the Milan Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by the operator, Acciaierie d’Italia, upholding the decision to suspend operations at the plant’s hot section until all asbestos had been removed from the equipment and measures taken to reduce fine dust emissions to safe levels (deadline: 28 October).

The Italian Senate subsequently approved additional funding of €100.5 million for ADI to ensure the continuity of production. The funding will be provided by the Italian Ministry of Enterprise and Industry (MIMIT) in the form of a loan. Acciaierie d’Italia must repay the loan within six months of the expiry of the lease agreement or within six months of the sale of the company’s assets.