Steel Mills
Granite City Works Added to US Steel Closures
Written by Sandy Williams
March 26, 2015
US Steel announced Wednesday it would consolidate its North American Flat-Rolled operations and temporarily idle operations at Granite City, Ill. Layoffs at Granite City will be effective on or after May 28, 2015.
Granite City is the primary supplier for US Steel Lone Star Tubular which was issued layoff notices in January due to the slowdown in the tubular market.
The idling of Granite City could add 2,080 employees to the more than 4,500 workers in Alabama, Minnesota and Texas that have been issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices due to weakening conditions in the oil and gas market and the high levels of steel imports flooding U.S. ports. WARN notices, once issued, do not automatically mean that all of the workers will be laid off. In many cases, plants continue to run even after WARN dates have passed.
In a statement US Steel said, “The company routinely adjusts production at its operating facilities to reflect market fluctuations. The consolidation is a result of challenging market conditions that reflect the cyclical nature of the industry. Global influences in the market like reduced steel prices, unfair trade, imports and fluctuating oil prices, continue to have an impact on the business.”
SunCoke Energy, which supplies coke to Granite City Works, issued the following statement.
“SunCoke Energy supplies coke to U.S. Steel’s Granite City Works under a long term, take or pay contract until 2025 and the temporary idling doesn’t change any obligations for US Steel under this contract. We value our long standing relationship with US Steel and will assist them in managing through the situation, which may include shipping coke to other US Steel facilities.”
Sandy Williams
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