US Steel Corp, the largest integrated steelmaker in the United States, will temporarily idle two facilities in Ontario, Canada, affecting 1,500 employees, as demand continues to suffer from the weak economic climate.
Over the next several weeks, US Steel will idle its steel finishing lines and coke ovens at Hamilton Works in Hamilton, Ontario, while, at Lake Erie Works near Nanticoke, Ontario, all operations except the coke ovens will be idled. The company did not specify how long the shutdown will last, but stated that it plans to temporarily concentrate production in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Alabama.
During the fourth quarter of 2008, US Steel cut its workforce by 4,200 in North America, where it employs some 27,000 people.