Union official: ArcelorMittal asking up to 500 local workers to take voluntary layoffs

BY ANDREA HOLECEK, Times of Northwest Indiana
holecek@nwitimes.com

BURNS HARBOR | ArcelorMittal is curtailing production at its U.S. mills, including Burns Harbor where one blast furnace is shuttered for relining and the other furnace's output is being slowed.

ArcelorMittal officials said Friday the company is "selectively reducing capacity in certain markets" to adapt supply to current demand, but the company declined to give specifics. The production cuts are a temporary measure in response to the global economic slowdown, a company spokeswoman said.

"This temporary capacity reduction is a direct result of the impact of the global economic slowdown and the resulting decrease in steel demand," the spokeswoman said in a statement. "We are continuously monitoring the situation in light of global developments and will update the market when we announce Q3 (third quarter) results in November."

A local United Steelworkers union official, who asked not to be named, said, "Mittal may shut down four blast furnaces in Mittal USA," but the official didn't provide where each shutdown would occur.

He said the company is looking for a 'voluntary work force reduction' of 250 to 500 people at the Burns Harbor mill beginning Oct. 26. Volunteers must agree to a 12- to 26-week layoff with the company able to call them back at any time, the official said.

Jim Robinson, USW District 7 director, said ArcelorMittal is well aware of the demographics of its work force.

"We have a large population of retirement eligible steelworkers," he said. "The question is when and how fast they will go. The company is working hard to hire and train to get others in before attrition takes place. Now that overtime has been cut, a lot of people may decide it's time to go."

There have been no discussions between the company and union about involuntary layoffs, Robinson said. The labor agreement between the USW and the company requires those discussions, he said.

Those taking voluntary layoffs would receive about 90 percent of the pay they would earn in a 40-hour work week through sub-pay and unemployment benefits, officials said.

All contractors working at the Burns Harbor mill, except those assigned to the D furnace reline, were informed Friday that they were not to return until further notice.

Tom Hargrove, president of USW Local 1010 at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor East, said all contractors are "moving out" of all the company's mills.

"We'll pick up their work, or it won't get done," he said. "Business is slow, so we're slowing down. And we'll probably get less overtime."