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US Steel to indefinitely idle steel tube plants

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Employees told layoffs could take effect in as little as 60 days at Lone Start and Lorain tubular operations

US Steel's other mills continuing normal operations to date

New York — US Steel will indefinitely idle its tubular steel mills in Texas and Ohio as a result of challenging market conditions and high import levels, a spokeswoman for the company said Tuesday.

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The company has issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices to employees of the Lone Star, Texas, mill and Lorain, Ohio, mill, advising that layoffs related to the idle could take effect in as little as 60 days, spokeswoman Meghan Cox said.

Any remaining orders for the idled facilities may result in some shift to one of US Steel's other tubular facilities, Cox said.

"The adjustment of operations has the potential to impact approximately 600 employees at Lone Star Tubular Operations," the company said. "At Lorain Tubular Operations, the potential impact is around 250 employees. While we do not expect to lay off that number of employees, the total number of employees impacted will depend on operational and maintenance needs."

US Steel's Lone Star Tubular Operations facilities in Lone Star, Texas, specializes in the manufacturing of electric-resistance welded (ERW) tubular products aimed for the oil and gas industry. Mill No. 1 produces ERW pipe ranging from 7 inches to 16 inches in outside diameter (OD) with an annual production capacity of 400,000 st, while Mill No. 2 produces pipe ranging from 1.088 inches to 7.15 inches OD with a capacity of 390,000 st/year, according to US Steel's website.

The Lorain, Ohio, manufacturing facility produces high-quality seamless pipe used in oil and gas exploration and production as well as the construction industry. The Lorain facility has an annual production capacity of 380,000 st of oil country tubular goods (OCTG), casing, standard and line pipe, and coupling stock, according to the company's website.

US Steel's other mills are continuing to operate amid the coronavirus outbreak in the US, the company said Tuesday.

"At present, our operations continue as normal," the company said. "We are reaching out to our customers to ensure our operations continue to meet their needs. We are monitoring our supply chain for any disruptions and while we see no signs of delivery delays, we have contingency plans in place."

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