ArcelorMittal, the largest steelmaker in the world, will lay off more than 1,000 workers in Poland by the end of 2012, the company said Wednesday, amid a Europe-wide downsizingdrive.

"ArcelorMittal Poland plans to reduce its workforce across seven plants to 11,300 by December 2012 from its 12,300 employees at the end of 2011," company press officer Sylwia Winiarek told AFP

The Polish branch of the company will also let go approximately 300 so-called interim employees, or workers hired from external firms, over the course of the year, Winiarek said.

Union officials at ArcelorMittal Poland have suggested that overall, nearly 1,500 jobs could be lost at the company this year.

The cuts in Poland come on the heels of ArcelorMittal reductions across Europe.

Last month, the global steel giant confirmed it was cutting 630 of the 6,000 jobs at its Czech plant in the western city of Ostrava to boost competitiveness under a voluntary redundancy programme offering employees the equivalent of 11 to 24 months' salary dep ending on seniority.

In Spain, where ArcelorMittal employs 11,000 people, protests were sparked last month over the closure a steel factory in