The company, United States Steel, filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification August 5th stating that it expects to let go fewer than 200 workers at its Great Lakes facility in Michigan.
What We Know:
- In mid-June, the company said it would idle two blast furnaces at its Great Lakes and Gary Works plants due to lower steel prices and softening demand. The layoffs have the potential to last more than six months and affect every area of the facility, from furnace to operations.
- These layoffs, according to an official at the United Steelworkers Union, are also planned for the Gary Works facility in Indiana. However, a spokeswoman for the company said that they “currently” do not expect “any employment level changes” at the Indiana plant.
- The lay-offs call are in the midst of comments made by President Donald Trump about the resurgence of the domestic steel industry. Last week in Pennsylvania, Trump said his 25% tariff on foreign imports has turned a “dead” business into a “thriving” enterprise.
- However, this is not putting into focus that imports have also fallen dramatically amid improved supplies and weakening demand from the auto and farm machinery sectors. Prices of hot-rolled coil are down nearly 37% from their 2018 peak and the stock of U.S. Steel has plunged 73% since March 1, 2018.
Hoping that these workers can bounce back.
