AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT BAYOU STEEL

LaPlace, Louisiana-based Bayou Steel Group, a mid-size steel producer, has announced the layoff of more than 376 employees as its LaPlace steelmaking facility located on the Mississippi River. The company appears to have run out of the cash needed to purchase raw materials, mainly scrap steel from abroad that is subject to tariffs, and has defaulted on payments to creditors.

According to a statement issued by the company…

“On October 1, 2019, Bayou Steel Group conducted a reduction in force, idled most of its operations, and filed for protection under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. This unfortunate situation was created by a severe lack in liquidity at the Company,
which resulted in a default with its senior secured lender, and created a situation where the Company could no longer purchase raw materials. The Company will continue to engage in limited production to finalize finished goods over the next few weeks and will use the bankruptcy process to sell off the remainder of its inventory and attempt to sell substantially all of its reaming assets via section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code to a strategic or financial buyer that will hopefully re-start operations.”

Since it is extremely difficult to idle steelmaking machinery, it is possible that a complete plant closure will result in additional layoffs.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT OWENS ILLINOIS (09/22/23)

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 — WACO, TEXAS PLANT SHUTTING DOWN WITH 300 LAYOFFS

The company has announced that it is ceasing bottle-making production at its Waco, Texas facility on October 16, 2023, and officially closing its doors in December 2023.

Around 300 total employees will have lost their jobs, including the 90 laid off in February of this year.

A company spokesperson noted, “O-I Glass has been a proud member of the Waco community, producing sustainable glass packaging for the beer, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverage markets since 1944. O-I continuously evaluates the long-term needs of the business and the viability of the assets at each manufacturing facility to best serve our critical customer base. As such, a decision has been made to close the Waco facility.”

FEBRUARY 7, 2023 — FURNACE DAMAGE LEADS TO 90 LAYOFFS IN WACO, TEXAS

According to a company spokesperson, “One of our furnaces has experienced ongoing damage and continued decline in performance due to thermal shock resulting from the power and gas outages during the freeze of February 2021. The company will restructure the workforce and the facility to focus on the two remaining furnaces.”

NOVEMBER 1, 2019 — 93 EMPLOYEES TO BE LAID OFF IN PORTLAND, OREGON

The company has announced that it will be idling one of its glass furnaces in Portland, Oregon, and laying off 93 employees in the process. The company states that they do not know if or when the furnace may be reactivated. The layoffs are scheduled to commence December 30, 2019.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 — Previous post…

Perrysburg, Ohio-based Owens-Brockway Glass Container, manufacturer of glass containers, is continuing its three-year transformational program and has announced that the company will be idling one of their glass furnaces in their Waco, Texas plant and laying off approximately 75 employees commencing on November 7, 2019. The decision was based on market economics with a softer demand for beer in the United States. According to a company spokesperson, “With continued softer demand in the U.S. across the beer category, O-I plans to idle one of the furnaces it uses to manufacture glass containers at its Waco facility for an indefinite duration/ This particular furnace is dedicated 100% to producing beer bottles. The remaining furnaces will continue to produce some beer as well as spirit and food glass packaging."

“As the Company remains focused on enabling its strategy to create long-term shareholder value, specific actions are underway to accelerate performance. In addition to the Company's highly successful Total Systems Cost initiative, an accelerated cost reduction initiative is being launched to help advance productivity and cost take-out across the enterprise and will be supported by a leading third-party consulting organization. And, the Company continues its strategic review of its business portfolio in order to focus on core operations best aligned with the interests of the Company and its strategic customers. This review is in addition to O-I's current tactical divestiture program and is supported through the Company's ongoing engagement with Goldman Sachs.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT AK STEEL (UPDATED)

MARCH 28, 2020 — 48 LAYOFFS IN ROCKPORT, INDIANA.

The company has announced that it will be laying off 48 employees at the Rockport works located in Rockport, Indiana. The layoffs will become effective on March 31, 2020 and include 31 in operations and 17 in maintenance that are associated with the APL (Annealing and Pickling Line) operations.

MARCH 7, 2020 — MAJOR WARNING OF POTENTIAL JOB LOSS IN BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA AND ZANESVILLE, OHIO.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., the company that IS acquiring AK Steel for nearly $3 billion and closing the transaction on March 13, 2020, has told Congress that unless steel tariffs were modified, they would be forced to take adverse action.

The company has suggested that it might be forced to lay off 1,500 jobs in Butler, Pennsylvania, and 100 jobs in Zanesville, Ohio, unless the tariffs allow the company to earn a profit.

Unless transformer laminations and cores, which are made from the company’s gain-oriented steel, are included in the tariffs, the two plants will be shut down.Chester, Ohio-based AK Steel Holding Corporation, a producer of flat-rolled carbon,”

Original post…

West Chester, Ohio-based AK Steel Holding Corporation, a producer of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, has announced the final closure of its Ashland, Kentucky steel works facility by the end of 2019, impacting 260 employees. Employees were notified in January, 2019 about the permanent closure which should have not come as a surprise since many of the operations, including the blast furnace, were idled in December 2015. Many long-term employees are expected to seek retirement and others are welcome to apply to the company’s other facilities in Dearborn, Michigan and Middletown, Ohio.

It is anticipated that 176 employees will be laid off in November and the remaining 84 employees will be laid of in December. The production and hot-dip galvanized coating equipment will be disassembled and transferred to other AK Steel facilities.

The decision was primarily an economic one that involved the costs of raw materials, labor, market conditions, the cost efficiencies of electric furnaces versus blast furnaces, foreign steel imports, tariffs, and and available capacity at other AK facilities.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere ... are you now wondering, Am I Next?