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US Steel is expected to lay off nearly 200 workers at a Michigan plant.
According to Reuters, the company announced in a statement that it would let workers leave six months or more after stopping production at the site.
The company announced earlier this summer that it will suspend operations at two blast furnaces, one at Great Lakes Works in Ecorse, Michigan, and the other in Gary, Indiana.
The company cited lower steel prices and reduced demand for idling ovens.
The announcement comes in the context of the ongoing trade war between the Trump administration and China. The White House first praised domestic steel price increases after the first tranche of tariffs. Since then, however, domestic prices have fallen sharply as supplies increase and demand moderates in the agricultural machinery and automotive industries, according to Reuters. Hot-rolled coil prices have fallen nearly 37% since their peak in 2018, he noted.
A United Steelworkers official told the press service that the Indiana factory was also planning layoffs, but a US spokesman said the company "does not expect" a "change of job." unemployment level "at Gary's factory.
Gary and the state of Indiana have granted US Steel millions of tax breaks for factory restoration, provided that the company maintains at least 3,875 jobs in the factory, according to Reuters.
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