Dura-Bond Industries plans to lay off 180 employees at its Steelton, Pennsylvania, pipe steel mill, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.
The layoffs are scheduled to begin on or about November 15, according to the letter. Dura-Bond, which acquired the Steelton mill from Bethlehem Steel in 2003, manufactures and coats large diameter steel line pipe at the facility.
The Steelton facility no longer has the order book required to support a two-shift operation in the pipe mill and coating mill, Dura-Bond President Jason Norris told S&P Global Platts Thursday.
"We are working very hard to try and secure more work so we can keep our workforce," Norris said. "We are very proud of the hardworking men and women at Dura-Bond and are saddened to have to make this announcement. We are still hopeful that President Trump will fulfill his promises to level the playing field and stop dumped pipe from [South] Korea, India, Turkey, Greece and Canada."
The American Line Pipe Producers Association -- a coalition of domestic large diameter line pipe producers, including Dura-Bond -- sent a letter to President Donald Trump in early September encouraging the administration to take immediate action under the Department of Commerce's ongoing Section 232 investigation.
The investigation, which began in April, aims to determine if steel imports threatened national security, and the probe could result in the introduction of tariffs, duties or other measures.
The US large diameter line pipe industry is currently operating at roughly 30% of total capacity, according to the ALPPA.
