According to a WARN Act notice filed with the state, the layoffs will begin in March. Some are being let go temporarily; other positions are being cut permanently.

“IPSCO remains hopeful that it will be able to rescind this notice for some affected employees and/or recall employees subsequent to this layoff if demand for its products and services increases sufficiently,”  COO and senior vice president Joel Mastervich wrote in the notification to the state .

The plant has an 8-inch and a 16-inch electric resistance welded mill and is capable of producing approximately 550,000 tons annually, according to the company. It also threads casing.

Tubular producers have been hammered by the rout in energy prices, which has curtailed severely curtailed exploration and production, and thus lowered demand for steel. At the same, producers are facing competition from low-cost imports.

The announcement follows previous layoffs at the plant last year, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper. The newspaper said that through the layoffs, the plant reduced its shifts to one per day.

“They’re telling us they’re developing a plan to break even until the market improves,” Ray Rogg, president of Local 1870 of the

United Steelworkers union, told the newspaper. Rogg, who is among those who are to be laid off, said he estimates that fewer than 70 people will remain at the plant.