Steel of West Virginia to cut 100 jobs, close vintage melt shop

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Steel of West Virginia (SWVA) is shutting down its vintage melt shop, and some employees will be out of a job.

The company says the decision to close the 1950s vintage melt shop was made so they can focus on and invest in their two rolling mills in Huntington. They say the changes should still preserve the jobs of approximately 500 of the SWVA’s more than 600 employees, meaning at least 100 jobs are slated to be cut.

Officials say that the “current U.S. trade policy coupled with onshoring momentum” has created what they call a “strong demand outlook” for their product line, leading to potential for their rolling mills to have a sustainable future.

Because of this, the SWVA plans to launch a multi-year investment campaign of approximately $30 million to improve efficiency, quality and productivity at the rolling mills. The company says that as part of this effort, they believe the vintage melt shop has “reached the end of its life cycle.”

“By optimizing our rolling mill operations and using readily available domestic steel billets, we believe we will be positioned to achieve a sustainable profit profile that supports continued operations, meets customer demand, and supports meaningful manufacturing jobs,” said Michael Winarta, SWVA General Manager. “To mitigate the impact on our team, we plan to work with the bargaining unit and our existing staff to appropriately align expertise and staffing levels with the needs of our remaining operations.”

This is a developing story and WOWK 13 News will update this article as more information becomes available.

Courtesy: www.wowktv.com