Halyvourgiki, Greece’s oldest company in the steel industry, which, like many other local industrial enterprises, is troubled by high energy costs, has announced a voluntary retrenchment program for 100 of its 300 employees.

Reacting to the news, Production Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis is expected to hold a meeting today with Halyvourgiki’s administration in an effort to persuade it to take back the decision.

Lafazanis has already met with representatives of the Panhellenic Metal Workers Federation, acronymed POEM, who presented the acute problems being faced by the sector in Greece as a result of high energy costs. These have affected the sector’s level of competitiveness against rival steel companies operating in Italy and Spain, prompting job losses.