Severstal North America to Continue Temporary Workforce Reductions
01/09/2009 - Under pressure from declining customer orders and an ongoing commitment to minimize operating costs, Severstal North America says it will continue its temporary voluntary and involuntary layoff program.
Under pressure from declining customer orders and an ongoing commitment to minimize operating costs, Severstal North America, Inc. has announced that it will continue its temporary voluntary and involuntary layoff program.
The layoffs are affecting both salaried and hourly personnel at the company’s Warren, Wheeling, Sparrows Point and Dearborn flat-rolled steel facilities. The company has been adjusting the layoff count on a week-by-week basis depending on existing production volumes.
"Like all of our peers in the North American steel industry, we have been facing a decline in our order books since mid-September,” commented Melvin E. Baggett, Vice President of Human Resources and company spokesperson. “In order to prudently manage our business during the global economic downturn, we need to take critical steps now that will help us remain a strong, profitable company for the long-term. These actions include lowering our production volumes to match customer demand and temporarily reducing the staffing at some of our facilities.
“While temporary reductions of people are a difficult measure for us all, by controlling our operating costs in the short term we are acting to ensure that Severstal, its employees and the community are well placed to benefit when the market begins to stabilize,” added Baggett.
The company said that it is in the process of updating its operating plan for 2009, and that it will continue to work closely with the United Steel Workers and United Auto Workers to balance workforce reductions with production needs.
