Republic Steel’s shutdown of mills in Ohio and New York will be permanent, according to local news reports.
Although the company announced in mid-August that production at its Canton, Ohio and Lackawanna, New York plants would be temporarily idled, the shutdown will be permanent, according to a public records request obtained by local newspaper The Canton Repository.
The news report said Republic Steel notified local and international union officers of the permanent closure in mid-September.
The Ohio and New York mills employed about 500 workers, who were furloughed in August. According to the local United Steelworkers president, it is so far unclear how the permanent closure will impact employee shutdown benefits, health insurance, and other obligations included in the five-year contract signed with Republic Steel earlier this year.