ArcelorMittal has significantly reduced its workforce in northwest Indiana. Our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report the steelmaker has laid off nearly 900 workers at its Indiana Harbor steel mill in East Chicago.
The move, which took effect Saturday, include 774 union-represented employees who are facing indefinite layoffs, according to the publication. Additionally, 103 salaried workers were laid off, though those moves are expected to be permanent.
In a notice to the state, ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor Vice President and General Manager Wendell Carter said the indefinite layoffs will likely last more than six months.
“Many of the company’s customers closed their operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite their reopenings, business conditions continue to be depressed during the pandemic, with no significant improvement in demand for the products we manufacture foreseen in the near term. This has had a direct impact on our business,” ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor Vice President and General Manager Wendell Carter said in a notice to the state. “Due to additional and unforeseen deterioration in the market for our products since the announcement of temporary layoffs — including, but not limited to, reevaluation of the extent to which customers will reopen within six months and projected reduced demand for our output — the company is now required to institute indefinite layoffs of represented employees and certain terminations among salaried, unrepresented employees at the ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor.”
The company also announced the layoffs of 454 workers at its facility in Cleveland, Ohio.