Liberty Steel in Georgetown County is temporarily laying off or redeploying its staff due to current economic conditions, the company said.
"After an assessment of market conditions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, LIBERTY Steel Group has decided to idle its Georgetown steelworks for an initial period of three months," the company said in a statement Wednesday.
Liberty Steel says the facility is being placed under a "care and maintenance regime," which they say will allow it to be reopened "swiftly" once the economy improves.
"Approximately 130 employees and contractors will be temporarily laid off or redeployed, with a small number of support function roles put under review. During this period a skeleton staff will be kept on to manage the care and maintenance programme. In the meantime, all customer orders for wire rod will be fulfilled from LIBERTY’s steelworks in Peoria, Illinois."
“Since the outbreak of COVID-19 we have seen demand for our products soften considerably and therefore we need to rebalance our production with forecast demand, said CEO Gregory Jones. " This is a difficult decision which hasn’t been taken lightly. A small number of employees will remain on site to ensure that the mill is fully maintained and we will re-evaluate the position in three months’ time."
James Sanderson, president of the United Steelworks Local 7898, said, “The United Steelworkers fully supports the decision being made by LIBERTY Steel which demonstrates their support for their employees. The coronavirus pandemic is being taken seriously by the LIBERTY Management group. The decision to idle our plant fully supports the safety and the families of LIBERTY Steel.”