L’Observateur / November 10, 2000

LAPLACE – Bayou Steel Corp. has implemented a temporary reduction in its laborforce due primarily to a continued unprecedented influx of low-priced foreign steel.

According to the company, the ability to maintain consistent operations over the past two years has been a major challenge, and the announced reduction in operations and accompanying layoffs is the second round of operational changes made this year.

Employment at Bayou Steel’s LaPlace mill will be temporarily reduced by approximately 100 positions, including both hourly and management level positions. The company’s Harriman, Tenn., mill will only be minimally impactedin employment at its operations were reduced earlier this year.

According to Bayou Steel president Jerry Pitts, the announced reduction in operations was forced by a lack of orders due to the saturation of cheap foreign products into the U.S. market.”Despite a strong national economy our industry remains severely burdened by the lack of prompt, decisive and comprehensive action by the government to protect domestic steel producers from unfairly traded imports,” he said. “Thisis the first time in the history of our company that we have had to significantly reduce operations as a result of foreign imports. Given the present levels ofinventories carried by our customers and our domestic competition, we expect that these reductions will last for at least five to six months in duration. Itappears that the present domestic pricing of our products has now been driven to such a low level that future orders for foreign products will diminish.

However, the level of foreign imports is difficult to gauge at this time.”Pitt said administrators have been in communication with employees throughout the past several months regarding the seriousness of this issue and regret the hardship this action will place on employees and their families.

“We have worked successfully over the past decade to eliminate layoffs; unfortunately, this action cannot be prevented,” he said. “The leadership of over75 domestic steel producers, mini-mills and integrated producers, together with the United Steelworkers of America, have co-signed a plea to the Clinton administration sharing their concerns regarding unabated foreign imports coming into the U.S. “These producers, including Bayou Steel Corp., a low cost and efficientproducer, have asked the administration to immediately impose meaningful restraints on steel imports from offending non-World Trade Organization’s countries and to press all those responsible for the surge to trade fairly and return imports to pre-crisis levels.”Prior to the announcement, Bayou Steel employed 476 persons at its LaPlace mill. Founded in 1979, Bayou Steel is Louisiana’s only steel mini-mill. TheLaPlace mill manufactures light structural and bar steel products.

Return To News Stories