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WCI Steel to Cut Salaried
Workforce by 10%

Jan. 16, 2004 — WCI Steel, Inc. announced a series of cost-cutting measures that, when fully implemented, will save the company approximately $3 million annually.

The plan entails a 10% voluntary reduction in WCI's salaried workforce and a decrease in the company's contributions to salaried employees' 401(k) savings plans.

Patrick G. Tatom, WCI's President and CEO, said that reducing WCI's costs is critical to the company successfully restructuring and emerging from bankruptcy.

"Our restructuring plan as well as our ability to compete on a long-term basis requires us to significantly lower our cost structure," Tatom said. "We will do everything prudently possible to accomplish this task."

A group of salaried employees will receive a letter in the next week detailing a financial retirement incentive. The employees will have until March 1 to accept or reject the retirement proposal. WCI will accept 35 retirements through this program.

Meanwhile, effective February 1, the company will reduce its base contribution to salaried employees' 401(k) plans by 50%, and will also suspend the company's additional match to employees' contributions. These changes will in no way affect employees' vested balances in their 401(k) plans.

As these actions are outside the normal course of business, they will require bankruptcy court approval.

WCI is an integrated steelmaker producing more than 185 grades of custom and commodity flat-rolled steel at its Warren, Ohio facility. WCI products are used by steel service centers, convertors, electrical equipment manufacturers and the automotive and construction markets. The company, which has approximately 1700 employees, filed a voluntary petition for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on Sep. 16, 2003.

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