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ArcelorMittal Announces Closure of Lachine Wire Mill in Montreal
03/27/2008 - ArcelorMittal announces that its Long Carbon North America–Wire Group will close down its Lachine wire mill in Montreal on June 30.
ArcelorMittal announced that its Long Carbon North America–Wire Group will close down its Lachine wire mill in Montreal on June 30.
“The Lachine and Saint-Patrick wire mills have both been operating at less than 50% capacity since the beginning of 2007. This situation entails high production costs in the North American wire market where supply has been consistently exceeding demand since the early 2000s,” said Alain Robitaille, General Manager, Wire Group. “We cannot continue operating two wire mills in a context where it is more advisable to operate only one plant and thereby bring our costs down to more competitive levels to ensure long term profitability.”
Robitaille added that U.S. markets for automotive construction and steel wire consumption have been on the decline in the past five or six years, while the value of the Canadian dollar continued to rise against the U.S. dollar.
Although the Lachine wire mill accounts for 153 positions, ArcelorMittal has planned a number of measures that will help to minimize the number of employees that will be laid off because of the closure. The company said it will expand the nearby Saint-Patrick wire mill’s workforce from its current level of 105 to 158 employees, and will offer positions in other ArcelorMittal locations in the Montreal area to employees impacted by the closure. ArcelorMittal said it also will offer incentives to those eligible for retirement.
“This closure represents the best option for Lachine and Saint-Patrick customers. They will see no difference in their business dealings with us and will continue to receive high quality products and services,” concluded Alain Robitaille.
The company said the closure will result in the net loss of 100 jobs within the Montreal area. The company plans to work with the United Steelworkers union to facilitate the phasing-out process through regulatory and labor contract mechanisms.
