U.S. Steel Cuts Jobs, Partially Blames Low Price Imports
(image courtesy of The Times of Northwest Indiana)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowPittsburgh-based U.S. Steel has announced it will idle its tin mill operations in East Chicago, affecting nearly 300 workers, half of whom will lose their jobs. Our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report this is the second time in four years U.S. Steel has idled the plant that produces tin-plated metal used for canned foods, paint cans and other tin products.
The steelmaker blames the cuts and plant closure, in part, to a flood of low-priced, imported, products.
"Following extensive market analysis of our global competitiveness in light of high levels of low-priced imported tin mill products entering the United States, we have decided to consolidate our current tin mill products production from three to two facilities, idling our East Chicago, Indiana, facility by mid-November 2019," said U.S. Steel in a statement.
The company says the low-priced imports have captured approximately have of the U.S. tin mill products market, “these import levels make operating a three-facility footprint like ours unsustainable under current market conditions.”
The newspaper also reports ArcelorMittal USA plans layoffs at a West Virginia tin mill. Click here to read the coverage.
U.S. Steel says it plans to offer half of the nearly 300 workers from the Tin Mill positions at Gary Works steel mill or the Midwest Plant in Portage. The company says the exact number of transfers has not been finalized.
U.S. Steel says it has made significant investments to the tin milling operations at their other plants. The company says it will be “working closely with our customers to ensure a smooth transition.”