At the end of October, U.S. Steel will quit sending steel slabs to be processed at Granite City Works, according to a union memo shared on Friday with St. Louis Public Radio.
The company notified the local chapter of the United Steelworkers on Thursday. The decision means employees will stop production come November and keep the mill ready to start up again.
There will be no layoffs because of this decision, according to the memo.
U.S. Steel and the new Japanese owner Nippon cannot further idle, close or sell the Metro East mill without approval from the Trump administration in the next two years, as part of the deal negotiated by the U.S. government in the $14 billion sale.
With this development and both blast furnaces currently idled, it remains unclear what exactly U.S. Steel and Nippon have planned for Granite City Works long term. Many have speculated the mill will either be sold to another company or closed.
“We understand this raises questions,” the memo reads. “Once additional details are available, we will schedule informational meetings to provide updates and answer questions.”
In July, union leadership said roughly 900 people worked on the plant, processing the steel slabs that had been shipped in from bigger mills near Pittsburgh and Gary, Indiana. At full capacity when both furnaces in Granite City produced steel, the mill employs around 2,000.
U.S. Steel idled the second blast furnace in 2023 and shut down the first in 2019
Granite City Mayor Mike Parkinson said he’s discussed the development with local union President Craig McKey and Illinois Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski — and he hopes to learn more by Monday.
