Competition with imported steel causes layoffs and leads company to review strategy in the country; The US operation continues with contributions maintained
It announced it on Friday (1st.ago.2025) that will reduce investments in Brazil from 2026 and confirmed that it has resigned 1,500 workers in the country since the beginning of the year.
The measure, which had been by the company in February this year, is a response to the absence of firmer actions of the president’s government (PT) to contain the advancement of steel imports, especially from China.
“As soon as the federal government puts business defense measures, we can immediately come back with these plants”said the company CEO, when commenting on the.
Despite the reassessment in Brazil, Werneck said that Gerdau will continue to invest in the United States, where the company sees a more favorable environment, with policies to encourage reindustrialization.
“In the United States, we are still firm. We have been growing our productive capacity in a marginal way, small, year after year.”he declared.
Revaluation in October
The investments scheduled for 2025, estimated at R $ 6 billion, of which R $ 4 billion for Brazil are maintained. However, the company said it will reevaluate the strategy for the following years.
The review will be discussed between August and September, with an estimated presentation for October during a meeting with investors. From 2022 to 2024, the annual contributions of the steel mill ranged from $ 5 billion to $ 6 billion.
USA
Gerdau maintains about 30% idle capacity in its US operations, allowing it to expand production without building new plants.
Currently, the company produces approximately 4 million tons of steel per year in the country. With ongoing adjustments, this volume can grow up to 1.5 million tons.
Results in the 2nd quarter
The company registered adjusted net profit from R $ 864 million from April to June, a drop of 8.6% over the same period of 2024.
Net revenue rose 5.5%to R $ 17.5 billion, driven by performance in North America. Here is the quarterly balance (PDF – 2 MB), released on Thursday (31.Jul).
In Brazil, sales were affected by the highest penetration of imported steel, which reached 26% of the market in the quarter – sight of 3.9 percentage points in the annual comparison. According to the company, the scenario reinforces the need to improve trade defense mechanisms.
In South America, there was punctual recovery in Argentina, but the environment is still considered challenging, especially in the construction sector.
