By CHRISTINE HAINES
[email protected]
The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting operations at the ArcelorMittal USA coke plant in Monessen.
According to the company, the coke batteries at the Monessen plant, which employs 179 people, will be placed on hot idle.
Layoffs will affect both salaried and hourly United Steelworkers union employees.
“We have made the difficult decision to hot idle our coke batteries at ArcelorMittal Monessen. At this time, we do not know the anticipated duration of the hot idle. We will maintain the plant during the hot idle period so that a restart is possible but we do not have a target date at this time,” said William Steers, ArcelorMittal’s general manager for communications and corporate responsibility.
According to Steers, the shutdown is in direct response to the reduced steel market caused by the pandemic. The Monessen plant produces coke, which is used in the steelmaking process. Its location has made it a valuable asset, according to company descriptions of the facility.
“The facility’s proximity to the river and Monessen’s central location to numerous blast furnaces provides enhanced distribution options and freight cost savings in comparison to the facility’s foreign and domestic competition,” the Monessen ArcelorMittal USA website states.
The idling of the plant is being attributed to the current reduced demand for steel due to the economic shutdown for the COVID-19 pandemic.
“ArcelorMittal’s Monessen’s steel producing customers and their customers have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak and the collective national response required to contain it. Therefore, we also must adapt our production and cost structures to match our customers demand in these challenging market conditions,” Steers said.
“The global COVID-19 Pandemic has caused significant disruptions to business throughout the world and increasingly across the United States,” Steers said. “We look forward to the world returning to a new normal which will hopefully enable our employees, our operations and our customers to return to more sustainable levels of steel demand.”
More than a month ago the international company had put out a release regarding the impact of COVID-19 on its operations around the world.
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