On Wednesday, January 21, U.S. Steel Tubular Products announced plans to idle its Bellville facility by the end of the month, entailing the layoff of 120 employees, on account of the national economic recession.
Most of the company's estimated 120 employees will be unemployed as of this afternoon or the first day of next week. A spokesman for U.S. Steel said that some workers would stay on to perform maintenance duties through the end of the month.
"Re-opening depends upon the strength of the economy and upon our order book strength and when we see more orders. That will give us a reason to bring the facility back online," the U.S. Steel official explained.
The Bellville facility has been producing oil country tubular goods, line pipe and specifically high-strength production tubing. U.S. Steel Tubular Products purchased the former Bellville Tube Company, L.P. in 2007.