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ArcelorMittal warns of mass layoffs at Indiana steel plant

ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, has warned that as many as 2,444 employees at a steel plant in northwestern Indiana could be laid off indefinitely in January.

The company announced on Friday that it had notified the United Steelworkers labor union and other interested parties about the possibility of an “indefinite layoff” at its Burns Harbor plant in the second half of January.

The recent drop-off in global steel production and the company’s previously announced plan to reduce production in North America by 40 percent factored into the decision, the company said.

“Potential work force reductions are a direct result of the extraordinary economic environment we are facing, and the company hopes to return workers to their jobs as market conditions warrant,” ArcelorMittal said in a statement.

UNION NEGOTIATIONS

Jim Robinson, director of United Steelworkers District 7, said the union is negotiating with ArcelorMittal to minimize the number of layoffs.

Union leaders at the international level “certainly knew what was going on,” Robinson said. “They see the fact there aren’t any orders. We’re not making a lot of steel.”

Robinson said that the global economic crisis that has resulted in the cut in steel production calls for timely action by elected officials.

“They need to step up to the plate and quit worrying about investment bankers and CEOs and start acting on behalf of average, middle-class American workers,” Robinson said.

The Burns Harbor plant is located 16km east of Gary, Indiana.

Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal SA, which operates 21 plants in the US, employs more than 320,000 people in over 60 countries.

BHP BILLITON

In separate news, BHP Billiton Ltd’s Brazilian operations will reduce iron ore pellet production because of weak demand, the Australian resources company announced.

BHP’s 50 percent-owned Sarmarco iron ore company will close two of its older plants from the end of this month until mid-January, and then reassess the market, the company said in a statement on Saturday.

It did not say what would happen to staff at the plants.

Samarco’s third iron ore pellet plant, opened in April this year, will remain in operation. BHP previously said it had no plan to cut iron ore pellet production in Australia.

The closure will temporarily reduce Samarco’s annual iron ore pellet production capacity from 22 million tonnes to 7.7 million tonnes.

BHP Billiton’s chief executive of iron and coal Marcus Randolph said global market conditions were proving challenging for the iron and steel sector.

“There is no doubt that these are very challenging times across the whole industry, and there is substantial uncertainty around the short term outlook,” Randolph said in the statement.
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