Cleveland, Ohio-based miner Cliffs Natural Resources said Monday that it is cutting production at its six North American iron ore mines and one coal operation due to lower demand from the steel industry.
The company's total annual North American iron ore production will drop to about 15 million net tons (nt), from previous 2008 production expectations of 23 million nt. Cliffs will also idle several of its pellet furnaces.
"The decision to adjust production is being made to balance our operations with current industry demand and avoid unnecessarily investing cash into working capital," said company chairman, president and CEO Joseph Carrabba.
At Cliffs' coal operations, production will be cut by about 100,000 nt to about 3.5 million nt for the year. About 100 workers at the company's Pinnacle Complex coal mine in West Virginia were also laid off Monday.