Weirton Steel to Cut Jobs
Weirton Steel to Restructure, Cut Hundreds of Jobs
biz.yahoo.com
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Hoping to avoid bankruptcy in an industry pummeled by foreign competition, Weirton Steel Corp. will eliminate hundreds of jobs, work out deals with key vendors and voluntarily reorganize.
The 3,500-member Independent Steelworkers Union has agreed to cut 372 maintenance and production jobs, plus 74 technical and clerical positions, union legal counsel Pete Visnic said Monday.
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``We had to take steps,'' he said. ``Some of these are pretty drastic, but we had no choice. Twenty-four companies have filed bankruptcy since 1997, and of those 24, nearly half filed this year.'' Demand has slumped, and prices have dropped, ``so even with this plan, it's still a rough environment,'' he said.
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Weirton Steel is the nation's eighth-largest integrated steelmaker, producing hot-rolled, cold-rolled, galvanized and tinplated steel. |
