Mittal to shut down Weirton furnace

Mittal to shut down Weirton furnace

Mittal Steel Co. told the Independent Steelworkers Union late Monday that it does not plan on restarting the blast furnace at its Weirton, West Virginia operation in 2006. The company did not provide specific numbers of planned job cuts, though the furnace is associated with at least 600 full time jobs. The furnace, idled since July, had been scheduled to restart this fall. Weirton's production costs, however, are known to be among the highest of Mittal's operations. Plant manager Brian James has indicated that because of these high costs, Mittal has decided its other blast furnace operations will absorb Weirton's operations in 2006. ISU spokesperson David Gossest stated to press, "The union is very disappointed by the news today, but at the same time will continue to pursue an aggressive plan to keep steel operations in Weirton." The ISU will release details of its plan to maintain Weirton's steel operations Thursday.