The gates of U.S. Steel's Gary Works in Gary.
The fallout from the coronavirus continues to hit the steel industry, long one of the largest employers in the Calumet Region.
U.S. Steel is now idling the Keetac mine in Minnesota's Iron Range, which sends iron ore pellets on lake freighters down Lake Michigan to the Gary Works and Midwest Plant steel mills in Northwest Indiana. It's a major supplier of the iron ore that's one of the most basic raw materials used in the process of steelmaking.
As many as 375 steelworkers may be temporarily laid off.
"Following operational adjustments announced on March 27, after further study of current demand, we must make additional adjustments to our raw materials production and indefinitely idle our Keetac facility to respond to the sudden and dramatic decline in business conditions resulting from the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic," U.S. Steel spokeswoman Megan Cox said. "As a result, we have issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notices for all potentially impacted employees. In the near term, we expect this to impact approximately 75 employees with three years of service or less. Over the next month, the temporary layoffs are expected to affect a total of approximately 375 employees. This includes both represented and non-represented employees."
U.S. Steel and other steelmakers have been struggling with a sharp drop in orders after the coronavirus pandemic closed auto plants across the country and caused most consumer spending to slow to standstill. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker also has idled blast furnaces #4 and #8 at Gary Works.
Cox said the company was in no position to speculate about the length of the idlings given the developing circumstances surround the global public health crisis that's unprecedented in recent history.
Gallery: Regionites mask up amid coronavirus pandemic
Roni and Griffin Gold
Roni and Griffin Gold, of Valparaiso, show off their face masks.
Alicia Vara
Alicia Vara and her children Guiv and Karina, of Valparaiso, mask up before they head out for some pizza.
Marzena Poreba
Marzena Poreb, of LaPorte, shows off her mask while at work.
Jason Glisan
Jason Glisan, of Valparaiso, shows off a look to combat that spread of COVID-19.
Antonio Uribe
Antonio Uribe, of Valparaiso, shows off a face covering amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Nathan Donaldson
Nathan Donaldson, of Valparaiso, shows off a mask curing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pat Pullara
Pat Pullara, of Valparaiso, poses with her mask. Pullara "always wears lipstick, even for run to the pharmacy," she says.
Harry Bielawski
Harry Bielawski, of St. John, poses in a mask.
Jennifer Nadgerman
Jennifer Nagdeman, of Crown Point, poses with a homemade mask. "Lately, I’ve been sewing and donating masks to friends and family that need them," Nagdeman said. "Typically I’m sewing boutique clothing for children. You can find my business Jellylou Creations on Facebook!"
Cheryl Smith
Cheryl Smith, of LaPorte, sports her mask. "I work as an account manager in a local nursing home," Smith said.
Jeannie Pritchard and Bob Frankovich
Jeannie Pritchard of Crown Point and her father Bob Frankovich of Gary wait to shop at Sam's Club in Hobart on a recent day in April.
Elizabeth Castillo-Rivera
Elizabeth Castillo-Rivera, of Griffith, dons a mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Antwoine Johnson
Antwoine Johnson, of Valparaiso, shows off his mask amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Richard Dvorscak
Richard Dvorscak, of Town Of Pines, wears a mask amid the coronavirus crisis.
Mary Kerley
Mary Kerley, of St. John all suited up and masked for her job as an ER nurse at UChicago Medicine.
Joseph McCullough
Joseph McCullough, of Hobart, poses while wearing a mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tiffany Collins
Tiffany Collins, of Hobart, shows off her mask while working at the Hobart Animal Clinic.
Susan El-Naggar
"I am sporting a leopard COVID-19 mask to coordinate with my black faux fur coat," said Susan El-Naggar, of Valparaiso. "As an interior designer, it’s important to dress in style in or out of quarantine!"
Debbie Walton Sexton
Debbie Walton Sexton, of Valparaiso, shows off a mask.
Danie Collins
Danie Collins, of Crown Point, wears a mask during the coronavirus pandemic.
Beth Hobbs
Beth Hobbs, of Highland, poses for a selife while wearing a mask amid the coronavirus crisis.
Natalie Ladd
Natalie Ladd, of Schererville, poses for a selife while wearing a mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Troy and Jennifer McQuen
Troy and Jennifer McQuen, of Crown Point, show off the masks they made for their cats amid the coronavirus pandemic.
John Gescheidler
John Gescheidler and dog Mandy, of Dyer, show off their masks amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Jessica Trunk
Jessica Trunk, of Portage, shows off a mask amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Speros Batistatos
Speros Batistatos and his sister-in-law, Tracey Lokomek, go shopping at Strack's for their families.
Chris and Teri Grotte
Chris and Teri Grotte from Porter show off their masks. "This photo is from our one and only Costco trip during this crisis," Terri said.
Sean and Kieran Harris
Sean and Kieran Harris, of Hessville/Hammond, show off their Batman masks.
Archie Gallup
Archie Gallup, of Chesterton, shows off his mask while at work.
Tee Bettelyoun
Tee Bettelyoun of Michigan City wears a mask.
Christiana Howton
Christiana Howton from Chesterton shows off a mask amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Orville Redenbacher statue
The Orville Redenbacher statue sports a colorful knit mask in Valparaiso's Central Park.
Masked benefactor
Doc's Smokehouse co-owner Brent Brashier sports a BBQ-themed surgical mask while donating boxed lunches from his Dyer business to front-line health care providers at Franciscan Health in Dyer.
Gallery
Joseph S. Pete
Business Reporter
Joseph S. Pete is a Lisagor Award-winning business reporter who covers steel, industry, unions, the ports, retail, banking and more. The Indiana University grad has been with The Times since 2013 and blogs about craft beer, culture and the military.
