Steel Mills
USS idles iron, steelmaking 'indefinitely' at Granite City Works
Written by Ethan Bernard
November 28, 2023
U.S. Steel said it has indefinitely idled steelmaking at its Granite City Works in southern Illinois near St. Louis.
“U.S. Steel has indefinitely idled Granite City’s primary operations and will meet customer demand by leveraging the company’s active iron and steelmaking facilities,” a spokeswoman for U.S. Steel said in a statement to SMU on Tuesday.
“This action was taken in order to help ensure melt capacity is balanced with our order book,” she added.
The spokeswoman noted that the company “has sent the required notices to employees who potentially may be affected.”
U.S. Steel issued ~1,000 workers a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice that they might be laid off. The company added that it expected ~60% of those would likely lose their jobs, according to a report from St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK.
“We thank our employees for their contributions and will keep them informed throughout this process,” the spokeswoman said.
Recall that in early October, U.S. Steel had announced layoffs of ~300 workers at Granite City. This came after the idling of blast furnace ‘B’ in mid-September.
U.S. Steel said at the time that the idling was in response to the United Auto Workers (UAW) union strike. The UAW strike officially concluded with ratification votes in favor of a new labor contract earlier this month.
The ‘A’ furnace was indefinitely idled in April 2020, according to SMU’s blast furnace status table.
Ethan Bernard
Read more from Ethan BernardLatest in Steel Mills
Nucor breaks ground on new Berkeley galv line
Nucor broke ground on a new galvanizing line at its Nucor Steel Berkeley sheet mill in Huger, S.C., on Thursday, May 2.
USS, Nippon merger delayed by DOJ antitrust review
The sale of U.S. Steel Corp. to Nippon Steel Corp. has been delayed by the US Department of Justice’s antitrust investigation. The Justice Department, which is conducting an antitrust review of the merger, has requested additional information from both USS and NSC. The companies originally anticipated closing the sale in the second or third quarter […]
U.S. Steel Q1 earnings slip, BRS expansions proceed
U.S. Steel posted slightly lower Q1’24 earnings as stronger earnings from its sheet mills were partially offset by a weaker performance from it tubular division. All told, the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker reported Q1’24 earnings of $171 million. That's down 14.1% from $199 million in Q1’23 on sales that fell 6.9% to $4.16 billion in the same comparison.
ArcelorMittal says Calvert CR outage over, floats buying Nippon’s stake in JV
ArcelorMittal posted a narrower Q1’24 profit compared to Q1’23 but remained optimistic about steel's long-term demand prospects.
SMU Community Chat: Hybar’s ambitious plans as newest player in rebar
Hybar has big plans for entering the American steel market. Although it is the newest player in the US rebar market, the startup is led by an experienced, nimble, and ambitious team, and backed by investors with deep pockets. Industry titan and Hybar CEO David Stickler joined SMU Managing Editor Michael Cowden on Wednesday’s Community Chat to update the SMU community on the company’s first mill, and its grand plans for the future.