1/29/2015 12:55:00 PM
NEWS BRIEFS
ArcelorMittal Idling Long Carbon Facility
ArcelorMittal U.S.A. announced the phased idling of its Indiana Harbor Long Carbon (IHLC) facility in East Chicago. The facility produces round and hexagon bar and coil for the automotive and fastener industries.
The idling would begin with the electric arc furnace on March 1, 2015, followed by the rolling mill operation sometime in the second quarter, pending customer requirements.
The facility was first idled in 2009 following the economic recession and was brought back online in 2010. But ArcelorMittal claimed the facility “has incurred losses since 2011,” hampered by “low utilization, scheduling inefficiencies and high costs.”
ArcelorMittal claimed it has been negotiating with the United Steelworkers (USW) since mid-November to keep the rolling mill functioning by using “outsourced billets.”
The company said a USW requirement that the change “be linked to increased production bonuses at the rolling mill, equivalent to an increase of approximately $4,000 annually per hourly employee at current production levels,” makes continued operation unfeasible.
The closure “will impact approximately 246 USW-represented employees who we fully expect to relocate to other ArcelorMittal facilities in Northwest Indiana.”
The company said it’s also working to absorb approximately 58 salaried employees into current Northwest Indiana operations.
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