Irving, Texas-based steelmaker Commercial Metals Company (CMC) announced Friday its decision to either sell or close its CMC Sisak mill, a steel pipe manufacturing facility in Croatia. CMC plans to close out the existing order book and expects the operation to wind down over the next several months.
CMC said that 1,130 workers will lose their jobs and another 350 will be cut from CMC's global workforce to further "align Commercial Metals Company to remain competitive and responsive to current and projected customer demand." As a part of the workforce reduction that was announced, five rebar fabricating locations will be closed, four domestic and one international location. In addition, eight construction services (CRP) locations were rationalized and either closed or are in the process of being sold.
Joe Alvarado, President and CEO of CMC explained the decision, "Despite focused efforts and substantial progress over the past several quarters to stabilize and improve the operating efficiency of the Croatia mill, we have determined that achieving sustained profitability would take considerable additional time and investment in a product line which is not considered a core business. This was a difficult decision that came after careful analysis and thorough review of the marketplace and our production capabilities. By exiting this business, we believe the capital and management attention consumed by our Croatian operations will be better deployed in our other businesses."