This week, US Steel warned 1,0000 employees of its Granite City, Illinois mill that it is expecting to lay off about 60% of them as a result of the need to idle iron and steelmaking operations at the plant for an indefinite period.
The warnings shocked the local community, which will be hard hit by the decision.
One woman whose relatives have worked at the mill for over 30 years, Edith Arnold, said to local KTVI, “You’ve got these small businesses that depend on that income to come in, and these businesses want these people to come in and spend their money. You shut them down, what are they going to do?”
The mill employs 1,300 steelworkers, according to the news station. The roughly 600 expected firings will nearly halve that number. Already in September, the plant laid off 400 workers due to additional idling.
In a statement, state Representative Amy Elik said she was “disgusted” and “saddened” by the move.
Elik issued a statement which said, “Granite City employees and their families have provided loyal, skilled labor to the steel industry for decades, and U.S. Steel is pulling the rug out from under them. U.S. Steel should be doing everything it can to keep the Granite City steel mill operating at capacity, and I don’t see the company making that effort.”
In a statement to FOX Business which explained the rationale behind the decision, US Steel said, “The plan ensures that our melt capacity is balanced with our order book. Because we can meet customer demand by leveraging our active iron and steelmaking facilities, we have made the decision to indefinitely idle Granite City’s primary operations. We thank our employees for their contributions and will keep them informed throughout this process.”
The firm added that it would continue to meet the needs of its customers by using slabs from other facilities on its rolling and finishing lines.
According to the company’s website, US Steel was formed in 1901 “with the joining of American business icons Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and Charles Schwab, led by Elbert H. Gary, U. S. Steel’s first chairman,” The company reported earnings of $299 million for the third quarter of 2023 in October.
