US Steel will suspend indefinitely its $1.2 billion upgrade to the nation’s largest coke plant, Clairton Works, the firm announced on Thursday.
"The ongoing global economic crisis has forced the company to make difficult but necessary decisions in all areas of our operations," said US Steel spokeswoman Courtney Boone.
The multi-year project at US Steel's Clairton Works coke plant, located 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was announced in November 2007, when the company estimated it would create 600 construction jobs and support thousands of existing jobs invigorating the local economy.
In October 2008, the project, which consists of the replacement of three aging coke battery ovens and the rehabilitation of batteries, broke ground. This first phase of the project was expected to be completed by 2011, while its second phase, consisting of two more coke battery oven replacements, was slated for completion in 2014. The upgraded ovens were to lower the environmental emissions and improve air quality in the surrounding community.
About a month ago, US Steel announced the idling of seven of its 12 coke batteries and 200 job eliminations as a result of the drop in business caused by the global recession.