The government will make a buyout offer this week for steelmaker ISD Dunaferr, Economy Minister Mihaly Varga said on Monday. The government took the decision after talks with Dunaferr's management on Monday morning, he stated.

The question of price and clarifying the circumstances is of great importance to the government, he added. "I think that if the attitude of the current owners is positive, then an agreement on the most important questions can be reached by the end of September or mid-October," he pointed out. If the owners do not accept an offer, it remains the government's task to offer support to all of the workers laid off at the company, he added.

ISD Dunaferr recently announced it was laying off as many as 1,500 workers or about one-fifth of its workforce, but later informed the ministry and the regional labour office about plans to lay of 890 employees. Minister Varga said the sale of Dunaferr to Ukraine's ISD in a 2004 privatisation was a mistake.

(MTI, Ministry of National Economy)