Posted on 11/20/2012 2:42:13 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
About 125 employees of North Shore Mining will be laid off Jan. 5 when the taconite operation idles two of its four pelletizing lines, according to an announcement issued Monday by the mine’s owner and operator, Cliffs Natural Resources.
The pending layoffs will affect people working at North Shore’s mine in Babbitt in addition to those working at the production facility in Silver Bay, but the exact breakdown of how many jobs will be trimmed at each location has not yet been determined, according to Sandra Karnowski, Cliffs’ district manager of public affairs.
North Shore Mining currently plans to operate with just two lines during 2013, but Karnowski said Cliffs will continue to monitor market conditions and will make upward or downward adjustments during the year as warranted by demand.
The layoffs will affect about 19 percent of North Shore’s 671-person work force, which has no union representation.
Cliffs also announced Monday that it will temporarily halt production at its Empire Mine in Michigan in April or May of 2013. The company reported this “extended summer shutdown” will result in the furlough of about 500 people.
Laid off employees at North Shore and Empire will receive supplemental unemployment pay and benefits based on their length of service to the company, Karnowski said.
Karnowski said the decision to cut output at the North Shore and the Empire mines is not a reflection of the facilities’ production costs. She said the decision was based on the customers they serve.
Pellets from the plants feed blast furnaces producing hot-rolled steel that goes into products such as automobiles and household appliances. While 2013 is forecast to bring decent growth in auto sales, many of those vehicles will be imported from Japan and Europe, said Joseph Carrabba, Cliffs’ chairman...
(Excerpt) Read more at jamestownsun.com ...
the new normal
Not quite 95,000 since the election by my reckoning.
FYI, the mine in Babbit and the processing facility in Silver bay are in Minnesota, not North Dakota.
You can see how I made that mistake, based on the writing in the article, can’t you? Would you ask the mods to change the headline, based on your knowledge of the geography? Thanks!
You’re not counting the 160,000 in banking or the Hurricane Sandy related, are you?
HOORAY North Shore Mining! Prepare. Persevere.
Some of those counties in Michigan mine country only have a few thousand people living in them. Laying off 500 people is like laying of a quarter of the population.
Thanks for the reminder, GeronL. The excuses/deflections/talking-points need to be anticipated/exposed and attacked for what they are.
I'm only counting since 11/6, I think that misses the bulk of the immediate Sandy aftermath. I don't have a way of breaking out storm related job losses.
I'm also trying to filter out non-US layoffs, although I did make the judgement call to include a bunch of Husqvarna employees since their layoff are due to loss of sales in America, their largest market.
I only show about 10,000 in the banking/financial services sectors.
I'd be happy to add any of the missing 150,000 that I can document as being since the election, and in America. Show me the sources of your numbers.
jEZ i HOPE THESE BLUE SLIPS THESE PEOPLE GET, REALIZE THEY ARE OBAMAMS BRAND OF PINK SLIPS
North Dakota voted for a commie senator. Reap what you sow
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