U.S. Steel to Indefinitely Idle Granite City Blast Furnace

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel) (NYSE:X) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) said Tuesday it will idle indefinitely the last operating blast furnace at the company's Granite City Works in Illinois, according to news accounts.

U.S. Steel said the move was made to balance its production with customer demand, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The move extends a closure that was first billed as temporary, the newspaper said. In September, U.S. Steel said it was temporarily idling its blast furnace "B" as a result of the impact of the United Auto Workers (UAW) automotive plant strike on steel demand. That action resulted in layoffs for an estimated 400 Granite City Works employees. The UAW strike against the "Big Three" auto companies has since ended. For more information, see September 20, 2023, article - Ripple Effect: U.S. Steel Temporarily Idles Granite City Works Blast Furnace, Cites UAW Strike.

On Tuesday, the company notified 600 additional employees that they might be laid off, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The exact number of employees to be laid off was unclear. Those to be laid off will have at least 60 days left on the job.

The steel rolling and finishing operations at Granite City Works will continue operating, using metal slabs from other facilities.

Tuesday's move drew outcries from local elected officials, including Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (D-Illinois), who maintained the layoffs "were never about the market and always about targeting organized workers."

U.S. Steel has said it is continuing to evaluate acquisition offers for the company. For more on that, see October 30, 2023, article - U.S. Steel Reviews Acquisition Offers Amid Planned Capex Reduction.

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