ArcelorMittal announced that 450 employees will be temporarily laid off at the company's Cleveland, Ohio plant beginning Friday, December 5th as a result of no steel being produced at the plant since both of its blast furnaces were idled in late October.
The layoffs represent more than 30 percent of the hourly workers at the Cleveland plant.
The blast furnaces were originally idled due to the credit crisis and low demand for steel orders.
While there is no specific timetable set for when the laid off employees will be able to return to work, Terry Fedor, the Cleveland plant's general manager, wrote In a letter to ArcelorMittal employees, "The temporary layoff is anticipated to last less than six months and we look forward to many of our employees returning to work as soon as market conditions warrant."
ArcelorMittal announced in late November that it had reduced production in North America by 40 percent, warning that it may lay off up to 16 percent of its US workforce as a result.