U.S. Steel's Irvin Plant in West Mifflin to lay off 165 workers
At U.S. Steel's Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, 165 employees got an unpleasant Easter present.
They're being laid off in what company officials are hoping will be a short-term move.
The Pittsburgh-based steel company said the temporary layoffs will start Sunday, but the Irvin Plant, which manufactures steel sheet for the appliance, automotive and container industries, will remain open.
“They (layoffs) are related to the operational adjustments that we are having throughout our North American Flat-Rolled segment as a result of challenging market conditions,” company spokeswoman Sarah A. Cassella said Friday.
“Global economic factors including high levels of imports, some of which are arguably unfairly traded, reduced steel prices and fluctuating oil prices continue to impact the business,” Cassella said.
The layoff at Irvin, one of four plants in U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works, follows the company's March 25 decision to shut down its Granite City Works near St. Louis, affecting 2,080 employees on or after May 28.
West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly echoed hopes that the layoffs would be short-lived.
“The entire country has seen a reduction of scrap metal, which is used by Irvin,” the mayor said Friday afternoon. “The fuel surplus that our country continues to enjoy, although the prices are artificially inflated by the oil industry, have created serious concern across the United States. We hope this situation is temporary and that those affected will be punching the time clock relatively soon.”
Cassella was unable to provide the percentage of Irwin's employees being laid off.
Irvin, Edgar Thomson, Clairton and Fairless Hills plants make up the Mon Valley Works, with a total workforce of approximately 3,000. Some steel from those plants goes into U.S. Steel's pipe-making Tubular Products Division.
The Irvin Plant employees are represented by United Steelworkers Local 2227. Local and international union officials could not be reached for comment.
The company has had to reduce operations at several of the plants in the Tubular Products Division, including a recent decision to curtail Lone Star operations in Texas. That followed the indefinite layoffs last year at Bellville, Texas, and McKeesport. On Wednesday, the company announced it would reduce production at an iron ore plant in Minnesota, affecting at least some of 680 employees effective June 1.
CEO Mario Longhi in January pledged to match steel output to demand and keep plants closed as long as orders remained weak. A cascade of temporary and permanent closures have followed.
Patrick Cloonan and Alex Nixon are staff writers for Trib Total Media. Cloonan can be reached at 412-664-9161, ext. 1967, or pcloonan@tribweb.com. Nixon can be reached at 412-320-7928 or anixon@tribweb.com.
