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Cliffs Natural Resources Provides WARN Notices
11/10/2008 - Cliffs Natural Resources’ North America business unit initiates WARN Act notification to local officials and the United Steelworkers at its Empire and Tilden mines in Michigan and the Hibbing Taconite and United Taconite mines in Minnesota.
In anticipation of potential production curtailments, Cliffs Natural Resources’ North America business unit has initiated WARN Act notification to local officials and the United Steelworkers in four of its operating locations: the Empire and Tilden mines in Michigan and the Hibbing Taconite and United Taconite mines in Minnesota.
The company’s notification of employees regarding the potential for production curtailments and employee reductions are being made in compliance with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. WARN Act notification is required 60 days in advance under certain circumstances when there is a potential for layoffs of more than 50 employees for a period in excess of six months.
The company previously (Oct. 28) announced production curtailments at United Taconite. United Taconite and local USW leadership have since agreed to implement a 32-hour workweek through the end of January in order to avoid layoffs. A potential layoff at the end of January may be delayed or avoided if the 32-hour workweek is extended past the end of January.
“Any production curtailments at our partnership mines are subject to approval by the mine partners, and as a result no final decisions have been made for Tilden, Empire, and Hibbing,” said Donald J. Gallagher, President of Cliffs’ North American business unit. “However, we must acknowledge that there is a potential for curtailments and layoffs and make the proper notifications for our employees and the community.”
“It is unfortunate that this is necessary,” Gallagher continued, “but we have seen a reduction in blast furnace operations by our customers due to the downturn in the global economy. As a result, their pellet needs have significantly declined. Any actions we take going forward will be necessary to balance mine production and pellet inventories with customer demand.”
The Empire and Tilden mines have a combined capacity to produce more than 13 million tons of pellets annually. Hibbing Taconite and United Taconite have annual production capacities of 8 million tons and more than 5 million tons, respectively.
Headquartered in Cleveland, Cliffs Natural Resources is an international mining company, the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America and a major supplier of metallurgical coal to the global steelmaking industry. The company operates six iron ore mines in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada, and three coking coal mines in West Virginia and Alabama. Cliffs is also majority owner of Portman Limited, a large iron ore mining company in Australia, serving the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore. In addition, the company has a 30% interest in the Amapá Project, a Brazilian iron ore project, and a 45% economic interest in the Sonoma Project, an Australian coking and thermal coal project.
