ArcelorMittal company said, on Tuesday, they would cut 300 jobs and reduce the production of iron ore by 500 million tons in the iron ore mine Omarska, in South-Bosnian city of Prijedor so that they would prolong the mine's lifespan by ten years.

“Due to uncertainty over long-term iron ore production in Prijedor, the Prijedor ArcelorMittal was forced to decrease production from 1.5 to 1.0 million tons so that we would preserve as many jobs as possible,” the company said.

Since ArcelorMittal from the Central-Bosnian city of Zenica is Omarska's only buyer, Zenica company will lower their use of Omarska's ore and import the deficit from abroad.

“Without these measures, the mine would be closed by 2025,” ArcelorMittal Prijedor said.

The company currently has some 800 employees, and the implementation of measures is planned to begin on September 1. They added that the company would work with the labour union to help the laid-off workers as much as possible.

According to the official data of the Indirect Taxation Authority in Bosnia, ArcelorMittal Zenica was the largest exporter in the country in 2016 and 2017, and most of their iron ore came from the sister company in Prijedor