Hungary’s largest steel plant faces crisis: Indian Liberty and Government clash over blame

The National Economy Ministry has repeated its instruction to India’s Liberty Steel to pay its liabilities and stop hampering payroll transfers from the state’s Wage Guarantee Fund.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the ministry said the government was following the situation closely and had offered assistance on a number of occasions to allow the restart of production at the Dunaújváros steelworks, which Liberty acquired in a liquidation procedure, in spite of the difficult industry circumstances.

It added that Liberty has not done enough to fulfill its pledges, has repeatedly hindered payroll, and has failed to settle its liabilities with the state and its suppliers.

The ministry said that although Liberty has signalled that it is prepared to make payroll from the Wage Guarantee Fund, it has not done so until now.

Liberty reaction

When contacted by Portfolio, Liberty wrote:

“Our discussions on fulfilling the conditions for the successful operation of Liberty Dunaújváros have not progressed as expected. The payment of salaries was made last month in the hope that this would allow negotiations to continue with the parties concerned to support the company, but the necessary progress has not been made to allow the planned restart. Short-term government and other stakeholder support is needed to restart the business.”

They added that if the participants decide not to support the plant’s future, they will consider “strategic options,” including negotiations with potential new investors.

As we wrote earlier, Hungary’s largest steelwork in deepening trouble, and liquidation started – details HERE

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