United States Steel (X – Get Report) stock is falling by 0.83% to $19.11 on Monday afternoon, following the company’s announcement that it will close operations at its Fairfield Works plant in Fairfield, Ala. “The modern construction of the EAF at Fairfield Works arranged of the facility’s existent blast furnace was in fact involved in that is actually analysis”. At the same time, oil prices have collapsed, hurting demand for steel pipe and tube, a key market for U.S. Steel. That furnace, which makes steel out of scrap metal instead of the iron ore and coal used in a blast furnace, can operate with fewer workers and is much easier to stop and restart.
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Fairfield Works has the capacity to process 2.4 million net tons of steel a year, according to United States Steel.
If approved, the permanent closure would happen on or after November 17. He said U.S. Steel was signaling “its exit from the spot coil business in the South”.
“While the USW has been aware of the impending shutdown, today’s notice brings tough news to many families, and it is a sad day in Birmingham for our members and the community”, said Conway, who has been leading the union’s labor negotiations with the company.
U.S. Steel Corp., the second-largest domestic producer of the metal, will permanently halt production at its Fairfield, Alabama, plant. The deadline to resolve the talks is September 1.
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“We have determined that the permanent shut-down of the Fairfield Works blast furnace, steelmaking and most of the finishing operations is necessary to improve the overall efficiency and cost structure of our flat-rolled segment”, Longhi said in a statement.
