U.S. Steel's Fairfield blast furnace will be idled in August, CEO Mario Longhi said in a conference call Wednesday.
The steel maker announced in January it sent potential layoff notices to about 1,800 people, more than 75 percent of its Alabama workforce.
If all had been eliminated, it would have left only about 300 workers. Today about 1,500 people work there, according to Chief Financial Officer Dan Lesnak said.
In March, Jefferson County commissioners voted to approve about $14 million in tax abatements for the company to build an electric arc furnace, which would require about 300 workers.
"We are making good progress on the EAF project at Fairfield Works and remain on target for a start up in the second half of 2016," Longhi said, according to a transcript published by Seeking Alpha.
Fairfield temporarily restarted the blast furnace in June, but will idle it again in August.
Aldo Mazzaferro, an analyst with Macquarie Research, asked Longhi how US Steel would deal with the redirection of its significantly reduced workforce in Fairfield, specifically whether workers would be offered early retirement or if they would be reassinged.
"Well, certainly there will be changes, Aldo, and there is a very well structured process by which the approach is going to be taken and of course there is very clear (sic) and conversation is taking place with the union as this event unfolds," Longhi said.
Source: al.com
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