DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Layoffs are coming for hundreds of steelworkers in Dearborn.
Cleveland-Cliffs issued warn notices to 600 employees at the Dearborn Works facility beginning July 15, citing "weak" U.S. automotive production.
“Production was down somewhere around 8% in February and I think it’s forecast to be down about 5% or 6% in the first quarter,” auto analyst David Zoia said.
Zoia says while a rebound is forecast for March, there are many factors limiting production.
“I think it's just a general downturn in the market. Pricing is high. There’s a lot of uncertainty I think with consumers of where tariffs are going,” Zoia said.
A company representative for Cleveland-Cliffs says it’s now temporary idling the blast furnace, BOF steel shop and continuous casting facilities at the Dearborn plant. The 600 workers were given notice they could be out of a job come July 15.
Richard Werebelski owns Chubz Smoke House, a food truck based in Westland that parks at the Ford Rouge complex, serving lunch to workers. Many of the customers he relies on are the employees at the steel plant.
“A lot of the Cliffs workers will come find my truck because they need food,” Werabelski said. "That's probably a good margin of my money, where we need it to hit our daily averages.”
Cleveland-Cliffs says 550 employees will continue to operate the Dearborn finishing facilities.
"The finishing facilities at Dearborn Works, including the pickling line tandem cold mill (PLTCM) and continuous galvanizing line (CGL), will continue to operate, supporting the continued employment of another 550 employees," the company said in a statement. "These actions will allow the company to operate more efficiently and in a more cost competitive way for the current market environment. We believe that, once President Trump’s policies take full effect and automotive production is re-shored, we should be able to resume steel production at Dearborn Works."
However, Zoia warns that likely won't be anytime soon.
"Any real big impact from the Trump tariffs would take some time to happen,” Zoia said. “That's certainly possible. I think that might not be a short-term factor. It takes a while for companies to resource and change the logistics of things.”
The United Auto Workers represents employees at the plant. We reached out Tuesday evening but did not hear back before this report.
