AK Steel CEO says steelmaker says 1,000 workers already laid off and number likely to double
CINCINNATI (AP) — AK Steel’s chairman and chief executive says more layoffs are likely at the steel company due to the struggling economy.
James Wainscott said Thursday after a speech at Xavier University that U.S. steel manufacturers are currently operating at about 50 percent of capacity. He also serves as chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute.
He says West Chester-based AK Steel Holding Corp. already has laid off about 1,000 of its 6,500 employees at nine plants and will “probably double that before things get better.”
Wainscott says low demand has led AK Steel to aggressively reduce costs, including temporarily idling plants and reducing salaried employee pay by 5 percent.
Wainscott also says the “buy American” provisions in the $787 billion federal stimulus plan are common sense.
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