Steel Mills

September Layoffs at U.S. Steel Great Lakes

August 20, 2019

U.S. Steel Corp is citing lower pricing and waning demand for the temporary layoff of approximately 200 workers at its Great Lakes Works in Ecorse, Mich.

In June, U.S. Steel announced that due to market conditions it would idle a blast furnace at Great Lakes as well as one at Gary Works in Indiana. At this time, no layoffs have been announced for the Indiana facility.

U.S Steel laid off 48 full- and part-time workers in July and August at Great Lakes and informed the Michigan Workforce Development Agency on Aug. 1 of the potential for 300 more layoffs on Sept. 30. The layoffs are expected to last six months or more and will impact workers in all areas of the plant.

“These additional adjustments in operations at Great Lakes Works are related to ongoing challenging market conditions,” said U.S. Steel spokeswoman Meghan Cox. “We cannot speculate about when normal production levels will resume at Great Lakes Works.”

Although steel pricing and demand soared following enactment of Section 232 tariffs, the benefit was short-lived. Beginning in mid-2018 prices began to slide, tumbling nearly 40 percent before bottoming in July 2019. Falling global pricing and demand, stronger supply and weaker orders from the U.S. automotive and agricultural sectors were cited as factors in the decline.

Recent price increases from the mills have held so far, and SMU data puts the current benchmark price for hot rolled steel at $585 per ton. Sentiment, however, is not strong and prices are expected to drop in the fourth quarter.