Boomerang Cuts 150 Jobs on High Steel Prices, Covid Cases

Boomerang Tube has laid off 150 people at its mill in Liberty, Texas, because of a “rapid spike” in steel prices as well as in COVID-19 infections, according to documents filed with state labor officials.

The layoffs were effective on Dec. 23, 2020, and affected approximately 50 salaried and 135 hourly employees, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) information filed with the Texas Workforce Commission.

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.