Add Illinois to the growing list of states where U.S. Steel is laying off workers due to a glut of foreign steel and declining demand in the U.S.
The company has notified federal officials that it will idle its giant Granite City Works near St. Louis, laying off up to 2,080 employees who are receiving notices required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
The plant shutdown is "a result of challenging market conditions that reflect the cyclical nature of the industry. Global influences in the market like reduced steel prices, unfair trade, imports and fluctuating oil prices, continue to have an impact on the business," the company said in a statement Wednesday. "The company will continue to operate its steelmaking operations in Alabama, Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania."
The Pittsburgh-based company owns and operates both the Minntac taconite iron ore mine and processing plant in Mountain Iron and Keetac mine and plant in Keewatin, and is Minnesota's largest producer of taconite iron ore. It's also a minority owner in Hibbing Taconite.
The company has more than 1,000 employees combined at the two Minnesota operations, but just two weeks ago announced it was indefinitely idling Keetac starting May 13 - laying off up to 412 workers - because of a glut of iron ore, and lack of demand and low prices for U.S.-made steel, mostly due to imported steel that's made with foreign ore.
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The Granite Works news will bring to more than 4,000 out of about 23,000 U.S. Steel employees nationwide who have received layoff notices this year as the domestic iron ore and steel industries face their biggest challenge in a decade.
The News Tribune reported last week that U.S. Steel already had announced layoffs in Alabama, Texas, Ohio and Indiana.
The southern Illinois Granite Works plant is the primary flat-roll steel supplier to U.S. Steel's Lone Star Tubular Operations in Texas, where the company already has announced 318 layoffs. In addition to foreign steel competition, the rapid slowdown of the U.S. oil-producing industry has led to far less demand for tubular steel pipe.
