US steel shuts down some Hamilton operations, workers to be redeployed
Monday, 11 October 2010
TORONTO, Oct 10 (Canadian Press): US steel is shutting down its raw steel production at the former Stelco plant in Hamilton indefinitely because of weak demand but won't lay off any workers, the company said last Friday.
"We always review and analyse market conditions and the impact they have on customer orders, and that's precipitated the decision to idle the blast furnace and steelmaking operations at Hamilton Works," said US Steel spokesman Trevor Harris.
"It's to stay in line with customer demand," Harris added. "We can't speculate on when market conditions will improve enough to restart."
US steel, which has been battling the federal government in court over a 2009 move to cut jobs in Hamilton, has been hard hit by falling demand for its products, which are widely used by the auto and appliance industries.
Those industrial sectors are still struggling to recover from a sales collapse in the 2008-09 recession.
The American company is also a major exporter of steel to China to meet its expanding demand for steel used in construction.
The company said affected employees will be redeployed to other operations within the Hamilton plant, which also finishes steel to meet specific customer needs.
Rolf Gerstenberger, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005 in Hamilton, estimated the shutdowns would affect 300 to 400 of the plant's 900 workers.
This is the second time the Hamilton blast furnace has been shut down in less than two years, and comes as workers are in the midst of difficult contract negotiations with the company.
Harris wouldn't comment on the ongoing labour negotiations or the impact, if any, they may have had on the decision to idle the operations.
The United Steelworkers said the promise to redeploy workers feels like "deja vu all over again."
"In 2008 they did the same thing. They shut the blast furnace down on Oct 26 and said they're not laying anybody off, and then three weeks later they started laying people off, because you can only find so much busy work," Gerstenberger said.
He also questioned the company's motives, and whether the stalled labour talks might have had something to do with the decision.
"It's quite extreme to do that, because each time you shut a blast furnace down like that, there's always a chance you could do some damage," he said.
Idling and restarting blast furnaces is a lengthy and difficult process that can result in cracking if not done properly. The Hamilton furnace has only been running since August 2009 after sitting cold for about nine months before that.
"We always review and analyse market conditions and the impact they have on customer orders, and that's precipitated the decision to idle the blast furnace and steelmaking operations at Hamilton Works," said US Steel spokesman Trevor Harris.
"It's to stay in line with customer demand," Harris added. "We can't speculate on when market conditions will improve enough to restart."
US steel, which has been battling the federal government in court over a 2009 move to cut jobs in Hamilton, has been hard hit by falling demand for its products, which are widely used by the auto and appliance industries.
Those industrial sectors are still struggling to recover from a sales collapse in the 2008-09 recession.
The American company is also a major exporter of steel to China to meet its expanding demand for steel used in construction.
The company said affected employees will be redeployed to other operations within the Hamilton plant, which also finishes steel to meet specific customer needs.
Rolf Gerstenberger, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005 in Hamilton, estimated the shutdowns would affect 300 to 400 of the plant's 900 workers.
This is the second time the Hamilton blast furnace has been shut down in less than two years, and comes as workers are in the midst of difficult contract negotiations with the company.
Harris wouldn't comment on the ongoing labour negotiations or the impact, if any, they may have had on the decision to idle the operations.
The United Steelworkers said the promise to redeploy workers feels like "deja vu all over again."
"In 2008 they did the same thing. They shut the blast furnace down on Oct 26 and said they're not laying anybody off, and then three weeks later they started laying people off, because you can only find so much busy work," Gerstenberger said.
He also questioned the company's motives, and whether the stalled labour talks might have had something to do with the decision.
"It's quite extreme to do that, because each time you shut a blast furnace down like that, there's always a chance you could do some damage," he said.
Idling and restarting blast furnaces is a lengthy and difficult process that can result in cracking if not done properly. The Hamilton furnace has only been running since August 2009 after sitting cold for about nine months before that.