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Reports: U. S. Steel Ditches Plan for New Pittsburgh HQ
11/05/2015 - United States Steel Corporation has scuttled plans for a new Pittsburgh headquarters, raising questions as to whether the iconic steelmaker might eventually leave its home city, according to local news reports.
Citing a confidential source, the Pittsburgh Business Times newspaper reported that CEO Mario Longhi announced the decision to employees on the morning of 5 November. The announcement was later confirmed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper.
“We can confirm that U. S. Steel will not be moving into a new headquarters building…,” the company said in a statement. “U. S. Steel will remain in the U. S. Steel Tower through the term of its lease."
In partnership with a developer, U. S. Steel had been looking at moving into an as-of-yet-to-be-built five-story, 268,000-square-foot headquarters just a few blocks away from its current home, the U. S. Steel Tower in downtown Pittsburgh.
U. S. Steel’s lease in its current headquarters is due to expire in 2017, when it had envisioned moving into the new building. The source wouldn’t tell the Business Times whether U. S. Steel has extended its current lease beyond the 2017 expiration.
“We will be exploring all options,” the source said. Those options could include a spot outside of Pittsburgh, the Business Times reported.
The announcement comes two days after the steelmaker reported a third-quarter net loss of US$173 million, or US$1.18 per diluted share. The company also revised its earnings outlook, lowering it to US$225 million as markets have not improved as the company had anticipated for the second half of 2015, reported the Post-Gazette.
During a conference call with analysts on 4 November, Longhi said U. S. Steel was working to reduce costs throughout the entire operation.
"We are conserving cash, making intelligent choices, especially where we can be competitive, and exiting business where we can't," Longhi told analysts Wednesday.
He added that those measures may include additional plant closures. U. S. Steel already has closed a blast furnace in Alabama and is considering a temporary shutdown of its Granite City works in Illinois, noted the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review newspaper.
"Closing facilities that are not competitive is troubling, but if we can't be competitive in such a difficult environment and also deal with unfair foreign competition, for whatever reasons, additional plant closures may be necessary. U. S. Steel has weathered storms like this before over many decades. The leaders and employees of the past kept us going and we intend to do the same," Longhi said during the call.
“We can confirm that U. S. Steel will not be moving into a new headquarters building…,” the company said in a statement. “U. S. Steel will remain in the U. S. Steel Tower through the term of its lease."
In partnership with a developer, U. S. Steel had been looking at moving into an as-of-yet-to-be-built five-story, 268,000-square-foot headquarters just a few blocks away from its current home, the U. S. Steel Tower in downtown Pittsburgh.
U. S. Steel’s lease in its current headquarters is due to expire in 2017, when it had envisioned moving into the new building. The source wouldn’t tell the Business Times whether U. S. Steel has extended its current lease beyond the 2017 expiration.
“We will be exploring all options,” the source said. Those options could include a spot outside of Pittsburgh, the Business Times reported.
The announcement comes two days after the steelmaker reported a third-quarter net loss of US$173 million, or US$1.18 per diluted share. The company also revised its earnings outlook, lowering it to US$225 million as markets have not improved as the company had anticipated for the second half of 2015, reported the Post-Gazette.
During a conference call with analysts on 4 November, Longhi said U. S. Steel was working to reduce costs throughout the entire operation.
"We are conserving cash, making intelligent choices, especially where we can be competitive, and exiting business where we can't," Longhi told analysts Wednesday.
He added that those measures may include additional plant closures. U. S. Steel already has closed a blast furnace in Alabama and is considering a temporary shutdown of its Granite City works in Illinois, noted the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review newspaper.
"Closing facilities that are not competitive is troubling, but if we can't be competitive in such a difficult environment and also deal with unfair foreign competition, for whatever reasons, additional plant closures may be necessary. U. S. Steel has weathered storms like this before over many decades. The leaders and employees of the past kept us going and we intend to do the same," Longhi said during the call.
