Ken Mann
4/24/2012
US Steel has announced that almost 10 per cent of its Hamilton employees will be laid off by the end of this week.
It says it won't resume basic steelmaking here during the second quarter.
The layoffs were announced as part of the company’s first quarter report that included a hefty loss.
But despite the red ink company officials say there's reason for optimism.
CEO John Surma notes that their 219 million dollar first quarter loss ---- is the result of an almost 400 million dollar loss on the sale of the company's Serbian operations.
He adds that they would otherwise have been in the black due to rising prices for flat-rolled steel and an 8% increase in shipments.
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