EAST CHICAGO| ArcelorMittal is idling Indiana Harbor West's finishing operations, and has notified workers it plans to shut down the electric arc furnace at the nearby Indiana Harbor Long Carbon.
Hundreds of steelworkers in East Chicago would be displaced, but they've been told they will be transferred and keep their jobs with the company.
Steelworkers who wished to remain anonymous said ArcelorMittal has idled the No. 2 galvanizing line at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor West, which was once the world's most productive galvanizing line. United Steelworkers Local 1011 notified workers that ArcelorMittal tentatively plans to idle No. 1 aluminizing line at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor West, formerly the LTV steel mill, in December 2015 in anticipation of shifting the production to the company's new AM/NS Calvert plant in Alabama.
The steel giant also told employees it planned to close the electric arc furnace at Indiana Long Carbon Plant No. 4 in March 2015, and buy foreign steel from sister plants instead. ArcelorMittal facilities in Canada and Germany are producing billets used for construction projects for $150 to $200 less per unit, steelworkers said.
An estimated 250 workers operate the electric arc furnace that would be idled, and about 100 workers would be displaced if the aluminizing line at Indiana Harbor West ends up being idled. Workers have been told they would reassigned somewhere else at the sprawling 3,100-acre steel mill where nearly 4,900 people work, and that could require retraining on how to do new jobs in many cases.
"ArcelorMittal continues to focus on increasing the efficiency of our facilities and the productivity of our workforce, and we appreciate the support of the United Steelworkers in this journey," a company spokesperson said. "Realities such as the rise of imports, increasing competition within key domestic markets, and high legacy costs require a long-term strategy that will eliminate inefficiencies and thus create a sustainable business through the ups and downs of the business cycle."
After struggling along with other steelmakers during the economic downtown, ArcelorMittal has been cutting costs for years, particularly in its home base of Europe, where demand for steel had been anemic. Chicago-based ArcelorMittal USA recently shook up its leadership, including by ousting president and CEO Michael Rippey, shortly before the international steelmaker reported a slender profit of $22 million in the third quarter.
"ArcelorMittal is committed to running our most cost-competitive assets at world-class production levels with no loss of overall volume or market share," the company spokesperson said. "In 2013, ArcelorMittal announced the idling of Indiana Harbor's westside finishing operations. Steel production output and employees were absorbed by the facility's eastside finishing operations. The consolidation of these operations supports our long-term strategy of ensuring a sustainable future for the facility, our workforce and the community."
The steelmaker continues to review ways to improve its bottom line, and is talks with the union about the 125-ton electric arc furnace in East Chicago. Indiana Harbor Long Carbon, a former Inland Steel facility on the east side of the harbor, also operates a ladle metallurgy station, a billet caster, a rod mill and a bar mill.
"While we continue to evaluate opportunities to further enhance productivity and efficiency throughout North America, there is no impact on other facilities or operations at this time," the spokesperson said. "ArcelorMittal is in direct conversation with USW Local 1010 on the future of Indiana Harbor Long Carbon's electric arc furnace."