According to local news reports, ArcelorMittal has officially idled its finishing line at the Indiana Harbor plant. The company has planned for more than a year to idle the No. 1 Aluminizing Line in the West Side No. 2 Sheet Mill and to shift production to Calvert, Alabama.
"ArcelorMittal is considering all options to optimize our assets in the United States and beyond, including those within Indiana Harbor, in support of the Action 2020 program at our Q4 and full-year 2015 earnings announcement," spokeswoman Mary Beth Holdford said in an email to local news. "In the United States, efforts to support Action 2020 include asset and cost optimization as well as an improved portfolio of high added value products."
The company has been reportedly considering the possibility of idling additional finishing lines at Indiana Harbor due to capacity utilization in the US falling under 70 percent last year.
"ArcelorMittal expects to optimize our assets in the United States without layoffs by leveraging natural attrition," Holdford said.