London—Major Nordic-based stainless steel and ferrochrome producer Outokumpu said Nov. 5 it expects the COVID-19 pandemic to have a “significant impact” on the stainless market throughout 2020. The company announced plans to cut headcount by around 10% as it seeks to optimize costs to better compete with growing import levels into the EU. The company expects its Q4 stainless steel deliveries to remain stable at Q3 levels – which slumped to 488,000 mt from 523,000 mt in the previous quarter – as some market areas remain weak, including those impacted by low oil prices, said CEO Heikki Malinen on a Q3 results conference call.
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