Tag: Plant Closings

Those Steel Promises

Closing Thought–30Dec19

Does anyone remember the promises Trump made in 2016 about the return of our industries like steel?

If you are a Trump supporter you will NOT remember that lie or that promise broken…..

Just to let Americans know…the steel industry is struggling and NOT returning….as a matter of fat it is closing down another plant…..

U.S. Steel Corp. announced this week that it will close a mill near Detroit, laying off more than 1,500 workers as it tries to address financial losses.

The news comes just months after U.S. Steel announced it would be laying off 200 workers at the same mill, Great Lakes Works. 

U.S. Steel said they expect to end the mill’s iron and steelmaking operations by April 1, 2020, with another part of the mill closing by the end of 2020. The estimated job loss is 1,545 workers.

Steel production will instead be shifted to a plant in Gary, Ind., where the company has invested $750 million after both the city and state gave U.S. Steel tax breaks. Those tax breaks aimed to keep at least 3,875 jobs at the plant.

The changes, along with a plan to slash its dividend and suspend stock repurchases, come as the company predicts major losses in the fourth quarter of the year. According to MarketWatch, U.S. Steel reported an adjusted loss of $1.15 a share in the fourth quarter. The number is far more than analysts’ original projection, which put losses at 62 cents a share. 

“We are conscious of the impact this decision will have on our employees, their families, and the local community, and we are announcing it now to provide them with as much time as possible to prepare for this transition,” CEO David Burritt said in a press release.

“These decisions are never easy, nor are they taken lightly.  However, we must responsibly manage our resources while also strengthening our company’s long-term future – a future many stakeholders depend on.  We will be taking steps in the weeks and months ahead to assist impacted employees by providing additional education about benefits available through our company, as well as community resources.”

The announcement comes as steel has been at the center of President Trump‘s ongoing trade war with China. After the first round of tariffs, the White House celebrated domestic steel price increases and Trump said tariffs were rebuilding the industry, but the prices have since seen a sharp decline.

The U.S. and China have closed in on a new trade deal this month, and are working out the final details. Officials said the deal involves lifting some U.S. tariffs on China, while Beijing has agreed to purchase more agricultural products from the U.S.

(thehill.com)

Just another lie that will go unchallenged…..

We hear all the time just how good the economy is doing….but do not ask the steel workers they may crap all over the “good news”….

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Canadian Auto Workers Think Strike

Canadian Auto Workers President Buzz Hargrove said the union is considering all options of protest including a strike after General Motors Corp.’s top leadership failed to give any hope that the automaker would keep the Oshawa, Ont., truck assembly plant open.

Hargrove said the CAW will decide how to proceed following its convention next week. Among the options, he said, would be taking the issue to the Canadian labor board, taking GM to court, pursuing expedited arbitration or even a strike.

CAW Local 222 leaders, who represent the Oshawa truck plant slated to close in 2009, said the blockade of GM’s Canadian headquarters in Oshawa that began Wednesday would continue for now.

The CAW signed a new contract with GM just two weeks ago and says GM had committed to keeping the plant open and appointing it with future new product.

The contract language said the company intended to allocate next-generation trucks to Oshawa, “dependent upon market demand and in light of the increasingly uncertain North American truck market.”

CAW members said the market has not changed so drastically in two weeks that GM could have entered into its contract in good faith.

“They’ve fractured our relationship,” said Local 222 President Chris Buckley. “There is no trust.”