Global steel giant ArcelorMittal will idle blast furnace No. 4 at its Indiana Harbor steel mill located in East Chicago following the shutting down of automotive plants due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, according to media reports. Only the company’s blast furnace No. 7 at Indiana Harbor East will continue to be in service.
Many automakers have temporarily closed their US plants, while demand from the automotive industry generates almost half of the business at integrated mills such as ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor, SteelOrbis understands.
ArcelorMittal had previously idled its blast furnace No. 3 at Indiana Harbor in November last year. Besides, the company’s many blast furnaces in Europe have been idled due to the spread of the coronavirus.
ArcelorMittal said that it is working with the United Steelworkers Union to transfer its employees working at idled blast furnaces to other available locations, while the company did not disclose how many jobs would be affected by this situation.