U.S. Steel may idle Granite City operations, 2,000 jobs at stake
From Illinois Business Journal news services
PITTSBURGH – United States Steel Corp. announced today it is examining a consolidation of its North American Flat-Rolled operations and may temporarily idle its Granite City Works steelmaking operations and most finishing operations in Granite City.
As part of the possible consolidation, 2,000 employees at Granite City Works are being issued notices under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.
Worker notices will be issued beginning on Oct. 6 and are separate from previously issued notices, the company said.
As the primary flat-roll supplier of Lone Star Tubular Operations, the consolidation is part of an on-going adjustment of steelmaking operations throughout North America to match customer demands.
The company routinely adjusts production at its operating facilities to reflect market fluctuations. The potential consolidation is a result of continued challenging global market conditions including fluctuating oil prices, reduced rig counts, depressed steel prices and unfairly traded imports, the company said. These global influences continue to have a significant impact on the business. The company said it will be working closely with its customers and will continue to operate its steelmaking operations in Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
This past spring, the Granite City steel operations were faced with a similar threat. After announcing in March the potential idling of the plant and the reduction of as many as 2,080 jobs, the company in May scaled back its action and laid off approximately 80 workers.
