The Piombino crisis: a model for Taranto

“A promise kept,” said Adolfo Urso, Minister for Enterprise, in November 2024, following a round-table discussion on Piombino: “The site is set to regain its leading role in the national steel industry.” Since then, the minister has repeatedly stated that Piombino was no longer a crisis, but “a national industrial policy project”, involving 1,500 workers and an investment of 3.2 billion. As recently as August, he stated: “If we’ve succeeded in Piombino, we’ll succeed in Taranto too.”

Meanwhile, Ilva has now closed down and Piombino is not faring too well either. The Metinvest-Danieli project involves a new electric furnace and was supposed to take on at least 500 JSW workers, who have been on short-time working for years. Production, initially scheduled for 2028, has been postponed until the end of 2029. After two years of negotiations, not a single bolt has yet been driven in, and Metinvest – grappling with financial difficulties linked to the war in Ukraine – is seeking a third partner to reduce its stake from 75 to 49 per cent. No new partner has been found, and the deadline for saving the project is December.

Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Metinvest is reportedly even considering a complete exit from the joint venture with Danieli, by selling its stake. The CEO of Metinvest Adria has denied this: “The Piombino project is proceeding as planned”. But if Piombino is to serve as a model for Taranto, the outcome seems a foregone conclusion.