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U.S. Steel in talks to close
century-old furnaces in Illinois
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About 1,000 jobs will be lost after
two-year transition
U.S. Steel Corp.,
the nation’s third-largest steelmaker, announced it’s in talks to permanently
end steel production at its century-old furnaces in Illinois.
The more than 120-year-old Pittsburgh-based company plans to sell
the two blast furnaces at its Granite City Works facility to SunCoke Energy for an undisclosed amount to propel
the use of so-called pig iron, a raw material needed to make steel in its mini
mills. Transitioning the facility to produce the raw material from steelmaking
will take until 2024 and would result in the loss of up to 1,000 jobs,
according to the company.