A hint into the future of Hamilton's plant?
U.S. Steel transferring work to Nanticoke
December 03, 2008
Naomi Powell
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/475912
A local steelmaker will pick up production as U.S. Steel lays off 3,500 workers south of the border.
U.S. Steel announced plans last night to idle three American plants as it battles a deep downturn in the industry.
The firm's remaining production will be consolidated at four locations, including U.S. Steel Canada's Lake Erie plant in Nanticoke.
"We believe that our difficult decision to temporarily consolidate our production is a necessary response to current market conditions," U.S. Steel CEO John Surma said in a statement last night.
The company will temporarily stop production at plants near Detroit and St. Louis and at an iron ore facility in Minnesota. Operations won't resume until markets recover, said spokesperson Courtney Boone.
U.S. Steel would not comment on how much production would be brought to its operations in Nanticoke, or at the other plants where it intends to concentrate production: Mon Valley Works near Pittsburgh, Gary Works in Gary, Ind., and Fairfield Works near Birmingham, Ala.
"It's certainly regrettable the company had to take these actions," said Bill Ferguson, president of the United Steelworkers union in Lake Erie. "At the same time I'm relieved Lake Erie is not on the block as yet."
Ferguson didn't know how the announcement would affect potential layoffs. Union leaders were told last week to expect about 100 layoffs in Nanticoke.
Built in the early 1980s, Lake Erie Works is the newest integrated steel plant in North America and is among U.S. Steel's most efficient.
By contrast, the company's plants in Pittsburgh and Indiana are older, with higher costs, he said.
As for the fate of U.S. Steel Canada's Hamilton plant, Boone would only say that the company is "continuing to review the ongoing operations at all of our facilities."
The blast furnace in Hamilton remains out of commission following a shutdown in late October.
U.S. Steel has already laid off more than 190 workers in the plant, and has told the union to prepare for 150 more, union leaders say.
U.S. Steel Canada employs 1,700 workers in Hamilton and 1,100 in Nanticoke.